Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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182. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he has reviewed all Departments in the context of the use of reform as a means of creating better efficiency and efficacy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2846/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Action 20 of the Civil Service Renewal Plan provides for the implementation of a programme of organisational capability reviews, the purpose being:

‘To embed a culture of regular and objective assessments of the capacity and capability of each Department to achieve its objectives and take the necessary action to close any gaps.’

Six reviews have  been completed to date: 

1) Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

2) Courts Service

3) Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation

4) Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

5) Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and

6) Department of Rural and Community Development

The reports from the above six reviews and the follow-up Action Plans are available on gov.ie, along with a Synthesis Paper which sets out the principal findings from all the reviews and possible lessons for the Civil Service as a whole.

Additionally, an organisational capability review of the Department of Defence is under way at present.  Work on the report is at an advanced stage and on its completion, the Department will prepare an action plan to address the recommendations made. The report and action plan will subsequently be submitted to Government and then published. 

Regarding the remaining Departments and principal Offices to be reviewed, they will be reviewed in line with a sequence agreed by the Civil Service Management Board. 

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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183. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he and his Department continue to assess the potential to utilise innovation and reform as a means of improving performance throughout the domestic economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2847/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am pleased to advise the Deputy that in November 2020 my Department published Ireland’s first Public Service Innovation Strategy – ‘Making Innovation Real’. This strategy aims to develop, foster and sustain innovation capacity and capability across the public service. High level goals focus on developing user-centred services; developing an innovative culture and mind-set; scaling up innovations across the public service; and engaging in transformative innovation using new and emerging technologies.

In addition to the Innovation Strategy, the Reform Division of my Department has developed a number of resources and supports to enable public bodies to develop their own Innovation Strategies as well as an Innovation Scorecard which supports public bodies to measure and improve their innovation capability.

The Reform Division provides ongoing support, initiatives and learning and development opportunities to public service bodies to assist them in developing innovation capacity, to encourage collaboration and to promote best practice across the public sector.  Some examples include:

- The Public Service Innovation Fund provides funding to projects that encourage new ways of working and the use of experimental or emerging technologies.

- The Public Service Innovation Network enables connections between people, teams and organisations to share ideas, experiences and best practice. 

- Embedding Robotic Process Automation and other intelligent automation technologies across government through a simplified procurement framework developed by DPER. This technology proved to be pivotal in the Covid-19 response in areas like the HPSC and the development of the PUP.

- Learning and Development interventions to hundreds of public servants in innovation-related modules and principles of design thinking. 

In respect of the domestic economy, boosting productivity is key to ensuring the competitiveness of Irish enterprises, and investment in research, development and innovation is known to boost firm-level productivity and aggregate economic performance.  Government support for public and private sector investment in digital skills and technology, research, development and innovation, allows Irish enterprises to seize opportunities to develop innovative new products and services to allow them to survive and thrive in competitive domestic and international markets.

The EU Innovation Scoreboard shows Ireland is considered a strong innovator, now ranked eleventh in the European Union, but the Government has ambitions to do more and make Ireland a Global Innovation Leader.

Furthermore, the development of a new national strategy for research and innovation is a key commitment in the Government’s Economic Recovery Plan 2021, which sets out the “dual ambition of placing research, development and innovation at the heart of addressing Ireland’s economic and societal challenges, and building capacity and capability across the research and innovation system to move research and innovation up the value chain.” The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science are leading the development of this new national strategy, in consultation with key Government Departments, agencies and stakeholders. The new Strategy will be published in 2022.

 I can also advise the Deputy that my Department is currently engaging with stakeholders to develop the next framework for Public Service Reform which will further contribute to improved performance across our Public Service. I expect this framework to be published later this year.