Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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832. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the savings that can be made through shared services with other local authorities. [35299/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Local authorities have identified total savings of €839m since 2008. In the period since the preparation of the Local Government Efficiency Report, from 2010 to end 2012, the savings achieved and projected are reported at €561m. The majority of the efficiency savings identified relate to staffing reductions and procurement.

Shared services have been identified in the Local Government Efficiency Review and the Public Service Reform Plan as an important opportunity to make further savings in administrative costs, while streamlining and improving service delivery without impacting on front line services.

To drive the reform agenda, and in particular shared service initiatives, in the local government sector, a dedicated Programme Management Office (PMO) has been established which reports to a high-level Oversight Group.

Overall, 31 operational areas are being examined for potential as a shared service or other collaborative approach that may provide efficiencies. The PMO has adopted a comprehensive methodology for the development and evaluation of projects including, gathering and analysing baseline data, business case preparation and peer review of business cases.

Treasury Management, Payroll, Transactional HR and Procurement have been prioritised in the shared services programme in the short to medium term. It is estimated that annual savings of the order of €6.4 million could be achieved (excluding procurement) from these projects. The figures will be subjected to third-party validation as part of the project processes.

In relation to procurement, the project is being led and co-ordinated by Kerry County Council as the lead authority in the Local Authority National Procurement Office. Since 2010, local authorities have reported procurement savings of approximately €109 million. Kerry County Council is working with the new Chief Procurement Officer in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and further savings of between €16.25 million and €19.5 million have been targeted for the sector in 2013.