Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

181. To ask the Minister for Health when the Department programme management office was established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48727/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Work on establishing the Programme Management Office (PMO) commenced in February 2013. The Office was established to support the delivery of the health reforms in Future Health and its scope includes:

- coordinating the reform programme and acting as a clearing house for projects;

- managing a monitoring and reporting system that shows progress in relation to each project and highlights areas for corrective action;

- advising the Health Reform Programme Board on scheduling, prioritisation and interdependencies of projects;

- developing expertise in programme and project management to support divisions within the Department; and

- managing the development of a consultation, communication and collaboration strategy.

In order to ensure the effectiveness of the PMO, the governance arrangements for the health reform programme include a Health Reform Programme Board to which the PMO reports. The Board drives and oversees implementation of the health service reform programme in line with the public service reform agenda.

The PMO has implemented a reporting system across the Department to track all projects and also reports to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on a quarterly basis.