Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

In his 2008 budget speech of 5 December 2007, the Minister for Finance announced that the Government had agreed to an efficiency review of all administrative spending across the entire public service. Under this review, my Department was required to examine all its administrative spending and that of the agencies under its aegis and report to the Department of Finance on the outcome. Departments were asked to pay particular attention in their reviews to inefficiencies which might arise due to the multiplicity of boards and agencies, the scope for efficient sharing of certain services and the scope for efficiencies in management, travel and consumables in general. The review was specifically precluded from identifying measures which would jeopardise the maintenance of front line services.

The Department established an efficiency review group to conduct the review. It examined the Department's spending from its administrative budget on back-office services which incorporate the finance unit, the human resources unit and the IT unit and front line services which, in the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, comprise the capital grant programmes in the sports and arts areas. A review was carried out within each of the agencies under the aegis of the Department along the same lines as that carried out in the Department. These reviews also examined both the front and back-end services. The report of the review was sent to the Department of Finance earlier this year. My understanding is that the Department of Finance is reviewing the report for my Department and for all other Departments and it is anticipated that the outcome of the review will have a bearing on the 2009 Estimates.

There are a number of agencies in each of the areas of arts, sport and tourism which are under the aegis of my Department, all of whom are making a significant contribution to the implementation of Government policies in their sectoral area. I have no plans to merge or abolish any of these agencies.

See this speech in context