Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 124: To ask the Taoiseach the policy decisions he has made to keep the current expenditure of his Department within the parameters allocated in his Department's budget for 2008; the savings in 2008, and the full year savings of each such initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15563/08]

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is a decrease of €600,000 (2.7%) in the Administration Budget allocation for my Department in 2008, which has been achieved through the implementation of a range of efficiency measures including the increased use of shared services and better procurement practices. It is my Department's policy to ensure that all expenditure under the Department's vote is within the total allocation of the Revised Estimate for the year. In doing so, the Department seeks at all times to achieve best value for money in the procurement of goods and services, consistent with the continued delivery of the range of services which we provide in line with the Department's overall objectives.

Specific initiatives in 2008 include:

the use of Shared Services for the provision of Financial Management Services and transaction processing which is estimated to result in a saving of €140,000 in 2008 (full year cost);

measures to monitor and reduce energy use and increase efficiency. It is estimated that this could result in savings in the region of €21,000 per annum; and

an examination of the provision of telecommunications services. While it is anticipated that this should result in efficiency gains and possible savings, these cannot be quantified at this point.

The Department will continue to identify initiatives to increase efficiency which may contribute to further expenditure savings in 2008.