John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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163. To ask the Taoiseach the rationale behind the establishment of the Civil Service Accountability Board; the date it was established; the names of the members of the board; the chairman and the process of appointment; the number of meetings held by the Board; and if the minutes of each meeting are available in hard copy or online. [18742/22]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Civil Service Renewal Plan, published in October 2014, included the establishment of an Accountability Board for the Civil Service to strengthen accountability and performance across the Civil Service by introducing greater oversight of delivery. It also recommended that the Board focused on providing oversight of a limited number of priorities actions including;

- overall governance role across the Civil Service and advise on and support the development of the capacity and capability of the Civil Service;

- the implementation of cross-cutting priorities set by Government; and

- a performance management process for Secretaries General.

The Civil Service Accountability Board, at the time, comprised a mix of senior Government ministers, including the then Taoiseach; Secretary Generals from the Departments of the Taoiseach, Public Expenditure and Reform, Education and Skills and the Chairperson of the Revenue Commissioners; and a number of external members selected following an expressions of interest process by the Public Appointments Service (PAS).

The Board met four times in carrying out its work under the 2014 Civil Service Renewal Plan: in Q3 and Q4 2015 and Q3 and Q4 2016. Work on that Plan was completed with the publication of its fourth progress report, available on the Gov.ie website, which contains a complete list of members.

The successor to the 2014 Plan is Civil Service Renewal 2030, which is a ten-year strategy that will build on the achievements of the 2014 Plan. There are a number of mechanisms to ensure the Strategy is successfully implemented including:

- A Programme Management Office to manage, track, and report on the progress of the Strategy;

- A series of three year action plans which will detail the precise goals and initiatives to progress each the strategic priorities under the Plan along with designated milestones, outcomes, and metrics

- Progress Reports on the status of the priorities within the renewal Strategy will be published on an annual basis.