Written answers

Monday, 9 September 2024

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Public Services Provision

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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421.To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Expenditure if he will outline the engagement with Deputies and Senators in the design of the indicators in the public service performance report; if he will outline the engagement with Deputies and Senators in the review of the indicators contained in the public service performance report; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34904/24]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Public Service Performance Report (PSPR) is a key output of my Department's performance budgeting framework. That framework, which has been in operation since 2012, promotes the systematic use of performance information to inform resource allocation decisions by strengthening the link between budget allocations and the delivery of results. It provides greater transparency about the use of public funds and it also facilitates enhanced oversight of public expenditure by Government, Departments, the Oireachtas, stakeholders, and members of the public.

My officials have had close engagement with various Committee and Houses of the Oireachtas teams over the past number of years in relation to the PSPR, its role and design. The Department welcomes these ongoing and constructive engagements with Oireachtas members and Committees to ensure that the PSPR best supports them in fulfilling their roles.

The design and review of the indicators chosen for inclusion in the PSPR is a matter for each individual Department in line with their relevant policy responsibility. Each Department is responsible for designing its own target indicators in Q4 for the year ahead, which are then included in the Revised Estimates Volume (REV), to reflect their policy goals.

The PSPR is issued mid-year as a retrospective document reviewing the delivery of the targets set in the previous year's REV As a general rule, indicators which are present in the associated REV (as targets) are included in the PSPR (to measure delivery).

Departments are asked to review indicators each year during the REV process. The DPENDR Performance Team is available to support them and offer guidance in this process.

I welcome the engagement between Departments and Oireachtas Committees on the PSPR which provides one avenue for Committees to feed into Departments' annual review of the indicators that they include in the REV and PSPR.

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