Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 467: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the estimate of the money saved to the Exchequer in 2007 by the use of the management information framework system; the way this saving was made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34303/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Management Information Framework (MIF) system was introduced as part of the modernisation process in the public service. The key aim of the MIF is to provide improved financial and non-financial management information to enable better decision making and use of resources by Government Departments. The MIF system has demonstrated its effectiveness in my Department, for example, through the provision of monthly expenditure reports to senior managers, in the retrieval of information for Parliamentary Questions and in the preparation of my Department's Annual Output Statement.

Because the MIF was primarily designed to produce improvements of a qualitative nature, my Department does not maintain an estimate of savings directly attributable to the system's use. However, the quality and timeliness of information which the MIF provides serves as a means of highlighting trends in expenditure and alerts senior managers to corrections which may need to be made in areas of expenditure for which they have responsibility. In this context, I am satisfied that the MIF system has proven to be a worthwhile investment in terms of supporting the monitoring and analysis of public expenditure and in capturing the outcomes of this expenditure through performance indicators.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 468: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the management information framework system has been fully rolled out in his Department; the use being made of performance indicators, the costing framework and management reports provided by this system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34318/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Management Information Framework (MIF) system was introduced as part of the modernisation process in the public service. The key aim of the MIF is to provide improved financial and non-financial information to managers to enable better decision making and use of resources by Government Departments.

The MIF system has been rolled-out in my Department, although refinements will continue to be made to maximise the potential of the system. A suite of performance indicators has been drawn-up as part of the MIF reporting system. These indicators feed into the Department's Strategy Statement, Annual Report and Annual Output Statement, all of which are laid before the Oireachtas. Progress on the achievement of targets set out in the indicators will also feature in reports to my Department's Management Board on a regular basis.

The financial management system introduced by my Department in 2004 as part of the MIF project incorporates a costing framework that captures expenditure by subhead, Business Unit and expenditure heading. It includes an extensive suite of accounting and financial management reports. Access to the main financial management reports on the system is directly available to Business Units throughout my Department. Data from the system is also used to compile more detailed monthly expenditure reports for my Department's Management Board, to extract information for replies to Parliamentary Questions and to prepare my Department's Annual Output Statement.