Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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276. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will review the efficiency of local government, including its financial and organisational remit, and best practice in other jurisdictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19777/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Local authorities, through the Project Management Office (PMO) of the Local Government Management Agency, have been exploring new models of service delivery in recent years and have implemented projects which are established best practice in the areas of shared services, external service delivery and procurement. The Public Service Reform Oversight Group was established to oversee the work programme of the PMO, ensure strategic alignment with the Government’s public service reform agenda and continue the drive for efficiencies in the local government sector.

Examples of this innovation include the shared payroll service MyPay, which is operational in most of the local authorities in the country, the Building Control Management System, which is an online certificate application and monitoring portal, and the establishment of a Procurement Office, which is developing procurement enabling software and introducing best practice in this field in cooperation with the national Office of Government Procurement.

Efficiency review is a continuous process within the local authority sector and will deliver further initiatives on an ongoing basis which reflect best practice internationally, resulting in better service delivery for the citizen while reducing costs.

I understand that the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) recently published progress reports by the PMO on the implementation of public service efficiency reforms recommended by the 2010 Local Government Efficiency Review and on shared services projects which were among the initiatives implemented in the local government sector as part of these reforms. These reports, along with related NOAC evaluations, are available at www.noac.ie.