The Department of Finance has paid consultants Merc Partners €45,100 for the firm's work in the search for a new Governor of the Central Bank.

Professor Philip Lane, inset, took up his new post this week and beat competition from 16 other candidates who were interviewed for the €254,048-a-year job.

The fee paid to Merc Partners was revealed in a written Dail reply to Fianna Fail's Michael McGrath from the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan.

The €45,100 is part of €2.19m paid out to consultants by the Department this year and already eclipses the €1.89m paid out to consultants for 2014.

The big winners in consultancy work for the Department of Finance this year are legal firms Arthur Cox and William Fry which received €754,202 and €465,657 for legal advice concerning the Irish banking system.

Separately, the Minister for Public Expenditure, Brendan Howlin, confirmed that his Department has paid out €3.9m to consultants this year.

Deloitte received fees of over €1m for work on three projects.

Minister Howlin told Deputy McGrath: "My Department ensures that every effort is made to limit the use of consultants where possible."

Irish Independent