Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is the first occasion where we have really got into this. The main thing is what is proposed by Deputy O'Brien, namely, that the committee would liaise with Department officials and the secretariat after the budget until the next Estimates to see how we can improve for next year.

The committee has been advised that some of the outputs and a significant number of the output measures and associated targets, including the Estimate, concern themselves with internal processes. That would include a published revised toolkit for Síolta. A view has been put to the committee that such measures say nothing about how efficiency or quality of service delivery will change as a result, if at all, and that their value is as explanations for target results where they are expected to contribute significantly to and be reflected in improved output and productivity. Does the Minister have any comments on that? Obviously, it would have been part of the discussions between the secretariat and departmental officials.