Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The specific work referred to by the Deputy is not carried out by the Vote section of my Department. It is carried out by the reform section. As the Deputy will be aware, we have reviewed how we procure across the public service. We decided last year to establish a centralised Office of Government Procurement. We have set a strict and specific target of €127 million across all sectors for procurement savings this year. A large chunk of that saving which will be made by means of better procurement models relates to the Department of Health. We have a target of saving €500 million through better procurement in the next three years. These ambitious targets will be driven by a different section in my Department - the Office of Government Procurement - which will work out a procurement plan across all Departments.

See this speech in context