Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

There is the potential for significant savings of public money if this can be developed into a shared service that yields returns. Has the Minister considered the potential for better treasury management in individual bodies due to use of the NTMA? If this generates savings, would it be reflected in terms of a reduction in the number of bureaucrats involved in treasury management and an increase in front-line staff, or is this left to the agency? Is there a driving philosophy to utilise shared services to reduce bureaucracy and overheads in the management of these bodies? One of the things that frustrated people, particularly when the HSE was set up, was the sense that bureaucracies were being built upon bureaucracies and that economies due to shared services could not be achieved because there was no reduction in the numbers involved in the HR departments, for example, of the individual health boards. While this is clearly an interesting area in which economies may be achieved, I am anxious to ensure the economies are utilised at the front line and that duplication is reduced. Perhaps there is still a treasury or foreign exchange management unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs that continues merrily as it always did even though it is now availing of the services of the NTMA.

Given that this is a single body, is there a tendering process for business of this nature? When bodies make use of the NTMA, is there an obligation for them to tender if the value of the work exceeds a certain amount, or is this simply a relationship that develops between bodies without an obligation to tender? While the NTMA may genuinely offer economies, I would like to see an opportunity for others to tender. The pressure to be competitive is always greater if there is an obligation to tender down the line. I would be interested to hear the Minister's general comments on how initiatives such as this can affect front-line public services.

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