Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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Question 14: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has discussed his instruction to heads of Departments, to include further human resource or structural reforms beyond the Croke Park agreement proposals for cost saving measures under the comprehensive review of expenditure, with trade unions signed up to Croke Park or with the implementation body. [20332/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Under the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure, all Departments and Offices are required to take a root-and-branch review of every line of public spending, to assess whether previous spending programmes are still required to meet public service objectives; whether those objectives are still valid and relevant; and whether new, more efficient, and more modern ways of delivering public services can be brought to bear. The Comprehensive Review will not focus solely upon cuts and service reductions; the aim of the process is to ensure that public service reform is built into the whole process of allocating public resources. This will involve using the mechanisms set out in the Croke Park Agreement, with its inherent flexibility and openness to change, and requiring public service managers and staff to think critically and creatively about new ways of doing public business and to co-operate together to deliver on them.

The Taoiseach and I took the opportunity to emphasise this point to the Implementation Body for the Agreement when we met with them on 29th June last. Building on the fundamental flexibilities around redeployment and cooperation with change that have been signed up to under the Agreement will be critical to ensuring that the public service can manage with less resources and fewer staff while at the same time protecting services to business and to citizens, including the most vulnerable in our society. The Agreement allows for the pursuit of additional measures where necessary to support the maintenance of key public services. Once Government has taken decisions on the Comprehensive Review, it will be possible to identify those measures that are appropriate to be dealt with under the Agreement and consult with the public service unions on delivering those changes in the way that the Agreement sets out.