Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the date on which he will publish his policy paper on reform of civil service accountability. [39887/12]

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

The Programme for Government contains a commitment to strengthen civil service accountability. This is a key element of the objectives reflected in the Public Service Reform Plan to boost the performance and capacity of the overall system of public administration in Ireland. The Government Reform Unit in my Department is currently preparing a policy paper on civil service accountability which will examine the current legislative framework underpinning civil service accountability, as well as the current administrative accountability arrangements in place. This is a complex issue touching on both legislative and non-legislative measures which impact on overall civil service effectiveness. It is intended to publish this policy paper in due course.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide the governance model for public service reform. [39888/12]

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

The Government’s Public Service Reform Plan, published last November, places a strong emphasis on the need for effective governance structures to ensure delivery of the Reform Plan and to maintain oversight of the reform programmes of Departments and Sectors. To this end, in November last year, I established a dedicated Reform and Delivery Office in my Department, led by an externally recruited Programme Director who has many years experience in leading change in the private sector. Other key skills have also been brought into this office, for example on shared services and external service delivery. The key role of the Reform and Delivery Office is to lead, support and coordinate the reform programme across the Public Service and good progress is being made in this regard, as set out in the Progress Report published on 6 September. In addition, each Department / major Office has its own Change Delivery Team to manage and drive the reform process at organisational / sectoral level.

In terms of formal governance, the key driver of the reform programme is the Cabinet Committee on Public Service Reform which provides political direction and accountability for reform. The Cabinet Committee, which is chaired by the Taoiseach and which I convene, meets on a quarterly basis to consider priority issues and ensure that overall progress is being achieved.

An Advisory Group of Secretaries General has also been established, which provides support and advice on strategic / policy issues to the Cabinet Committee on Public Service Reform. In addition, a Reform and Delivery Board, primarily comprising Assistant Secretaries responsible for leading reform in each Department / Office, meets regularly to oversee and monitor the delivery of Public Service Reform at a strategic level and provide assurance to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and to the Cabinet Committee that Public Service Reform is being successfully delivered.

In line with best practice governance, Project Boards have been established for many of the projects which are being implemented under the Reform Plan, for example for the various shared services projects. In addition, each of the actions in the overall Reform Plan is assigned to a lead official, with Senior Responsible Owners appointed to lead the Major Projects which have been identified as being of major strategic importance. The Reform and Delivery Office in my Department is also working closely with each of the main sectors to ensure that they have appropriate governance arrangements in place to drive and support the delivery of their reform programmes.

In conclusion, this Government is strongly committed to its ambitious programme of Public Service Reform and I believe that a robust governance framework is in place to ensure its successful implementation. Reform of our public services is an ongoing process and my Department will regularly evaluate these governance structures with a view to achieving maximum delivery of the reform programme over the coming years.