Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 115: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which adequate sources of reform have been identified to reduce costs to the Exchequer in line with commitments arising from the EU-IMF bailout; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35401/11]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 119: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the particular Departments that have shown greatest potential for reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35406/11]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 123: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent of the public sector reform, if any, undertaken over the past ten years, year by year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35410/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 115, 119 and 123 together.

As indicated to the Deputy in a similar PQ on 11 October, the Public Service Reform agenda has been pursued both centrally and by individual public bodies for many years, and there have been many notable achievements in this regard. However, it is clear that significant Public Service reforms are required to meet the challenges we face and the Programme for Government sets out a range of commitments in this regard. I do not wish to single out any Department as having shown the greatest potential for reform as all Ministers and Departments clearly have a key role to play. It is clear that we need a particular focus on the large sectors such as Health, Education, Local Government and Justice.

It would be very time consuming to break down the progress made on a year by year basis, but certain key developments stand out.

Under the Strategic Management Initiative of the mid 1990s, a series of changes were introduced in areas such as Human Resource Management and the Performance Management and Development System, Quality Customer Service and the creation of Customer Service Charters, better financial management, regulatory reform (particularly the introduction of Regularly Impact Analysis), Strategy Statements and Output Statements, and initiatives to improve openness and transparency.

More recently, the OECD Review of the Irish Public Service, commenced in 2006 and published in 2008, benchmarked the Public Service in Ireland against other comparable countries, and made recommendations as to the future direction of public service reform. On foot of the OECD Review, the Transforming Public Services programme was launched in November 2008 and set out an agenda for transformation across the Public Service.

During 2010, the Public Service Agreement was concluded with the public service unions and includes a significant number of commitments to Public Service reform. The first review by the Implementation Body set up under the Agreement has since concluded that solid and measurable progress is being made in its implementation and a summary of progress for the most recent reporting period, April to September 2011, was published by the Body earlier today, which again outlines welcome progress.

We have now entered a new phase of Public Service reform. We are committed to a major fiscal consolidation to reduce our deficit to a level of 8.6% of GDP in 2012 and to below 3% of GDP by 2015. Future economic growth will only come from a solid and sustainable fiscal position and far reaching Public Service Reform is central to this. It is in this context that, this afternoon, I announced a number of key developments in the Government's Public Service reform programme including a detailed action oriented Public Service Reform Plan which provides the basis for delivering comprehensive and strategic reform of the Irish Public Service, and which addresses many of the commitments in the Programme for Government.

The Plan is available on my Department's website and has been circulated to all Deputies, and outlines the priority actions and timelines for reform in a broad range of areas such as public service numbers, business process improvement, eGovernment and customer service, shared services, procurement, public expenditure reform, etc. and a number of actions in these and other areas are already underway. It also focuses on actions to improve performance by organisations and individuals to ensure greater efficiency, effectiveness and economy as we work our way through our current difficulties. I look forward to working with all stakeholders, including Oireachtas Committees, as we undertake the most ambitious and important programme of Public Service reform since the foundation of the State.