Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 149: To ask the Minister for Finance when the central evaluation unit was set up within his Department; and if he will outline its exact role and terms of reference and its programme of work for the next twelve months. [9387/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I initiated the Central Expenditure Evaluation Unit (CEEU) in my Department in June 2006 with the appointment of a Head of Unit and assignment of appropriately qualified staff. The Unit's initial phase of operations included development of a work programme and running a recruitment process for appropriately skilled expenditure evaluators. Two evaluators have now been appointed from this competition. In addition, my Department currently has four participants in the Masters Programme in Policy Analysis delivered by the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) in association with the Faculty of Commerce, UCD. Upon completion of the programme, they will be assigned as expenditure evaluators to the Central Expenditure Evaluation Unit, two in mid 2007 and two in mid 2008.

The Unit is charged with promoting best practice in the evaluation and implementation of programme and project expenditure across all Government Departments and Public Sector Agencies. It has a particular focus on checking that Department of Finance frameworks in relation to the appraisal and management of programmes and projects are being implemented, and in overseeing ongoing Programme Evaluation under the Value for Money and Policy Review initiative and the National Development Plan. I would stress that responsibility for achieving VFM for programmes and projects rests in the first instance with the relevant Departments and Implementing Agencies. The role of the CEEU is to assist these bodies by promoting best practice in the evaluation and implementation of programme and project expenditure.

The Unit's programme of work for the next twelve months will focus on checking compliance with the capital expenditure VFM frameworks, including undertaking its own programme of spot checks of individual capital projects; overseeing ongoing programme evaluation under the Value for Money and Policy Review initiative and development and implementation of a scheme of programme evaluation under the new National Development Plan (2007-2013). Overall it is my objective that the CEEU will play an important role in inculcating better VFM practice throughout the system.