Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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195. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if reform will play a central role in the context of national wage agreements in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21593/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The commitment to public service reform has and will always be a key feature of public service agreements. All public service Agreements, beginning with the Croke Park Agreement in 2010 have included measures to reform and modernise public services.

The Covid-19 pandemic saw an unprecedented display of commitment, flexibility hard work and agility in service provisions across the range civil and public services. The current public service Agreement Building Momentum reflects a commitment to harness this momentum for change to meet the immediate challenges that present in the lifetime of the Agreement, and to maintain this momentum to prepare for future challenges.

The Agreement also brings forward the provisions of previous agreements in relation to reform and continues to support the delivery of key national reform plans and initiatives which are listed in the Agreement including the implementation of Sláintecare in the Health sector and the implementation of A Policing Service for our Future in the Justice sector. 

More specifically, this Agreement provides an overarching framework for reform. 

The reform measures are grouped under three headings:

- Retention and continuation of positive reforms prompted by COVID crisis. For example: digital work/service solutions, rapid redeployment of staff, extended hours of service, agility of public service.

- The potential for technology to transform service delivery; and

- Improving access to services

Measures include:

- a focus on improved outcomes in terms of how citizens engage with and experience public services;

- improved delivery channels (including digital delivery); and

- greater flexibility and cross-organisational co-ordination

Under the Building Momentum agreement, each sector of the public service has committed to the development and implementation of bespoke sectoral reform action plans. These plans have been published and are available at gov.ie.