Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 224: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the benefits which accrued from benchmarking with regard to the services provided to the general public by her Department. [40874/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Since the establishment of the Health Service Executive, the role of my Department has changed to a stronger policy and performance evaluation role. The Department's role is focused on ensuring that health services are delivered in accordance with Government policy, and thus involves more direct interaction with agencies and other service providers than with the general public.

However, benchmarking has provided impetus to a broad process of modernisation in my Department, which is still ongoing. Staff have committed to flexibility and to stable industrial relations.

Central to the modernisation process is a need to become more focussed on results. Our Business Plans already include clearly itemised objectives, along with delivery dates and Key Performance Indicators. We are working to refine this process to increase the clarity of delivery dates, and to improve the level and clarity of prioritisation, including the identification of a smaller number of core priorities, which should facilitate rapid and accurate response in terms of reports for senior management and for me as Minister. These changes are being applied to Business Plans from 2009. We have bedded in our Risk Management system, including a live Risk Register. Crucially, we have integrated the Risk Management system with our Business Planning system, so that risk becomes one of the factors that defines priority within Business Plans.

In addition to our "full" format Business Plans, we have continued for 2008 with the production and publication of a Corporate Business Plan, which sets out in a clearly, easily digestible fashion the Department's Mission and Role, along with a tabular statement of Key Outputs and Performance Indicators.

We have implemented an updated Correspondence Tracking system, which will allow the tracing of relevant correspondence received in the Department, and the path that it takes internally thereafter.

We have identified Staff Training as a critical element in building our capacity to discharge our remit, and as a way of driving change and further elements of modernisation.

Staff have already, and are continuing to, co-operate fully with and support the above range of modernisation measures. I would stress that modernisation is not something that I envisage ever being finished, or stopping, but is rather an ongoing process which is critical if any organisation is to maintain its responsiveness and its ability to meet the needs of those it services.

The Department has supported me in implementing a demanding legislation programme. Additional proposed legislation has already been announced.