602. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of mobile phones issued to staff in 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024; and the total costs expended by his Department on handsets and phones bills over the same timeframe. [44864/24]

Mobile phones are issued to staff for work related purposes according to the OGCIO Mobile Phone Policy.

The number of handsets issued and the overall expenditure on handsets and phone bills is set out in the table below. The total bills include the costs of new handsets issued, and those already in existence.