Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

As outlined in the programme for Government, the Government is committed to the most ambitious programme of public service reform since the foundation of the State. This programme will take place in tandem with an equally significant programme of constitutional, political and institutional reform to ensure there is a fundamental change in democratic and public governance and a dramatic change in the cost efficiency and methods of delivery of public services. The cost of delivering public services must be reduced further, with fewer staff and tighter budgets, while it becomes better integrated and more customer-focused, as well as being leaner and more efficient.

Implementation of this reform programme is a priority for the Government and detailed implementation plans are being developed which encompass the commitments to public service reform in the programme for Government and priority areas from the existing transforming public services programme. The issues to be addressed in the reform programme will, of course, also be informed by the comprehensive review of expenditure across all Departments.

The implementation plans will be presented to the Cabinet sub-committee on public service reform in the coming weeks and will set out the priority actions and timelines for reform in a broad range of areas. There will be a focus on actions to improve performance by organisations and individuals, to ensure greater efficiency, effectiveness and economy and ensure flexibility in the deployment of people and resources. Specific priority areas will include e-Government, shared services, public procurement, business process improvement and financial management. Several actions are already under way in these areas.

My Department has been given a clear mandate to drive and enable public service reform. The focus now is on the key reforms required and how and in what sequence they will be implemented. Over the past two months, my officials have been meeting with all Departments and major State offices to discuss priorities and challenges in the reform programme.

A reform and delivery office is being established in my Department to facilitate, drive and support the reform programme. Last week, I announced the appointment of the programme director of this office. He and his office will work closely with organisations across the public service, enabling them to deliver reform at a local level, as well as leading on key cross-cutting reform initiatives.

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