Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, the public service reform plan published by the Government on 17 November 2011 outlined a series of rationalisation measures, some of which related to a certain number of the bodies funded from my Department's Vote. In this regard, my Department conducted a critical examination of the structure and operations of the institutions included in the public service reform plan and developed a comprehensive and practical approach to implementation of the various Government decisions in this area. This was endorsed by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. A progress report on the implementation of these measures was recently submitted to and approved by the Government. Summary documents which outline the main outcomes of this examination in relation to the relevant bodies and institutions have been published on my Department's website.

Savings of €20 million in enhanced service efficiencies and value for money measures were targeted in the public service reform plan. In this context, it is expected that savings in the region of approximately €1 million will be made initially across the institutions involved in the reform programme which are funded from my Department's Vote, with further savings to be identified as the various cost saving measures are implemented. In the immediate term savings are being made primarily in the following three ways: through the ending of payments to chairpersons and members of boards or advisory councils; through a programme of shared services between institutions, including retail, security, marketing, procurement and storage; and through the provision of services by my Department for certain institutions, including human resources and financial services, thereby relieving them of the need to incur costs in accessing these services.

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