Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 8 February 2023
Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure and Reform (Revised)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Revised)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Revised)
Vote 15 - Secret Service (Revised)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Revised)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Revised)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Revised)
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement (Revised)
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (Revised)
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister. It is fine if he incorporates the information into a reply to a different question. Two of the Department's primary functions are to manage public expenditure and to reform the Civil Service and the wider public service for the better. We are all aware of the scandals regarding the nursing homes. Some justified it on the basis of keeping costs down for the State, but as has rightly been pointed out by professor of law, Conor O'Mahony, the focus should be on ensuring that the legal and constitutional rights of citizens are not breached. That would be a much better reform. It is one that would ensure there would be no litigation and hence there would be no need for such a legal strategy. As the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, how does he hope to improve the alignment of those two goals, namely, keeping costs down and improving reform of the Department in particular in regard to such incidents?