David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 18: To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied with the progress under the expenditure review initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7129/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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As I stated in a reply to a previous parliamentary question on 1 February this year, I would like to see greater progress being made in improving the arrangements for carrying out expenditure reviews and in completing reviews.

I am committed to ensuring that we get better value for money from public expenditure. I have therefore accepted the recommendations in the first formal report from the expenditure review central steering committee on progress underthe expenditure eview initiative, ERI, for the period June 2002 to June 2004 which was submitted to me last November. This report found that progress had been made by Departments and offices in undertaking systematic evaluation both within and outside the ERI, and in building an evaluation culture. However, it also highlighted some deficiencies in the process and made a number of recommendations to improve it. The recommendations set out in the report require Departments to take steps to: address the problems identified in planning, managing, and resourcing the review process; ensure the timely completion of reviews in accordance with Government decisions; build on the impact and effectiveness of the review process, with particular emphasis on the role of reviews in directing significant resource allocation decisions; help build an evaluation culture by engaging proactively with the expenditure review process; and focus reviews on programme areas of significant expenditure.

They are designed to enhance the improvements in the arrangements for carrying out expenditure reviews since publication of the Comptroller and Auditor General's value for money report on ERI in January 2002 and to address perceived gaps in the responses to the recommendations set out in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report.

I attach particular importance to the recommendations of the steering committee that expenditure reviews should encompass significant spending programmes, that they should be completed on time, and that their recommendations should be followed up on. The responsibility in regard to implementation of these and the other recommendations rests in the first instance with Departments. I therefore wrote to all Ministers last November on receipt of the steering committee's report urging them to ensure that their Departments and offices take appropriate steps to implement the recommendations. My Department also wrote to all Secretaries General on 1 March requesting them to: make the necessary arrangements to complete as soon as possible all outstanding reviews for which their Department is responsible and to report progress in this regard; indicate the steps which their Department-office has taken to implement the recommendations of the expenditure review report; and propose topics for the next round of expenditure reviews for the period 2005-07 for submission to Government.