Ms Niamh O'Donoghue:

We have a very heavily integrated risk management system which is managed centrally and which reports to the management board, of which I am Chair. Risk management is integrated with business plans. Our principal officers are required to identify risks and to monitor and report on them on a regular basis. We have a project governance committee which specifically oversees the awarding of contracts and defines what projects the Department will undertake at any particular time. The project office that supports the project governance committee liaises very closely with the national procurement services and with the legal services with regard to templates and form of contract and also with the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform with regard to any restrictions. We try to monitor the request for tender, notification and award processes, in line with best practice.

The risk management system we have in place means that we have a very constant highlighting of risk right across all scheme areas, whether that risk be operational, reputational or financial. It is quite a sophisticated system.