Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide the governance model for public sector reform initiated by him. [51550/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Government’s Public Service Reform Plan, which was published last November, places a strong emphasis on the need for effective governance structures to ensure delivery of the Reform Plan and maintain oversight of the reform programmes of Departments and Sectors. To this end, in November of last year, I established a dedicated Reform and Delivery Office in my Department, led by an externally recruited Programme Director who has many years of 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 co-ordinate the reform programme across the Public Service. Good progress is being made in this regard, as set out in the Progress Report published on 6 September. In addition, each Department or major Office has its own Change Delivery Team to manage and drive the reform process at organisational and sectoral levels.

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 overall progress is being achieved. An Advisory Group of Secretaries General has also been established, which provides support and advice on strategic and 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 and major Office, meets regularly to oversee and monitor the delivery of Public Service Reform at a strategic level and to 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 strategic importance. The Reform and Delivery Office in my Department is also working closely with each of the main sectors to ensure they have effective governance arrangements in place to drive and oversee the delivery of the reform programmes for those sectors. In conclusion, the Government is strongly committed to its ambitious programme of Public Service Reform. I believe that a robust governance framework is in place to ensure its successful implementation. Reform of our public services is an ongoing process. My Department will regularly evaluate these governance structures with a view to achieving maximum delivery of the reform programme over the coming years.