Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of non-core public service activities that have been selected for priority outsourcing to companies based here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9083/13]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Evaluating opportunities for the external delivery of some non-core public services is an action in the Public Service Reform Plan agreed by Government in November 2011. In July 2012, the Government agreed a range of actions aimed at achieving a focused and integrated approach to external service delivery of non-core processes with the objective of reducing costs and focusing staff resources on priority areas.

As part of this approach, the Government has decided that all proposed new services across the Public Service will be tested for external service delivery before any approval to provide the service internally will be granted. External service delivery leads have been appointed in every Department and Sector and the three major sectors of Health, Justice and Local Government have prepared external service delivery plans. My Department is also examining a number of potential cross-Departmental major projects for external service delivery.

While my Department is overseeing the development and implementation of external service delivery policy for the Public Service, the testing and ultimate decision with regard to the outsourcing of any particular service is a matter for the individual public bodies concerned in each case. All contracts offered for external service delivery will be subject to the normal rules governing public procurement, which require all services to be offered by open competitive tender.