Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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146. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has conducted a capacity review of his Department’s ability to deliver services that they are responsible for in the past ten years to date; the same of State bodies and agencies under his Department’s aegis; if he published those reviews; the number of recommendations implemented arising from the reviews and same for State bodies and agencies under his aegis; if the capacity review was outsourced; and if so, to whom and at what cost. [40847/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for their question, which I have also referred to the agencies under the aegis of my Department for a direct reply.

My Department delivers a range of services directly to the public. The National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF) database facilitates the collection of national revenues, supports driving licence production, maintenance of vehicle records and facilitates the implementation and enforcement of measures appropriate to road safety and vehicle and driver regulation generally. My Department also has responsibility for the regulation, monitoring, and licensing of the commercial road transport sector and issued approximately 750 road haulage operator licences and 300 road passenger transport operator licences in 2023.

My Department’s Marine Survey Office delivers an important service as the maritime transport regulator for the safety, security, environmental protection and living and working conditions for vessels and ports in Ireland and Irish ships abroad. This includes the publication of regular Marine Notices to publicise important safety, regulatory and other information relating to the maritime sector in Ireland.

Moreover, the Irish Coast Guard, provides a vital maritime search and rescue, maritime casualty, and pollution response service across our coastline.

In line with our Statement of Strategy Goal of “Organisational Excellence and Innovation ”, my Department is committed to continuously improving service delivery across all of these areas, to ensure that it is well-run and focused on quality delivery for our partners and citizens.

Digital Service Delivery: In 2023, my Department’s Information Services Division led a full Governance and Operating Model review and redesign, leading to the creation of the Digital Hub, a centralised structure, which brings together all core ICT and digital functions in the Department, including the NVDF function. This Digital Hub is overseeing technology strategy, technology and business operations, data management, data analytics and ICT project management. This includes an Enterprise Architecture function that will create a technology roadmap for the next 5 years, aligned to the needs of the Department, wider government, and our agencies.

One of the first outputs of this Hub has been that my Department launched a new online change of vehicle ownership service for private sales this year which allows the real-time transfer of vehicle ownership and provides peace of mind to both buyers and sellers. The online motor tax service is available 24/7 and collects roughly 84% of all motor tax receipts (amounting to approximately €750 million in 2023). Further digitisation projects for customer service are planned for delivery next year.

Good Governance: My Department encourages the bodies under our aegis to undertake ongoing reviews to ensure good governance. Under section 4.6 of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies which requires an annual self-assessment by our State Boards, my Department oversees that the self-assessment takes place and is confirmed by the Chair in an annual Code checklist response to the Department. Regarding the 3-year external evaluation also outlined in section 4.6 of the Code, my Department engages with our agencies to ensure that external Board reviews are undertaken and periodically writes to the Chairs of the agencies to remind them of that requirement.

My Department has also commissioned external reviews of its agencies to examine how best to improve delivery of their services now and into the future. More recently, in accordance with our obligations under the Code, my Department commissioned external independent reviews of both the Road Safety Authority and the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS). In the case of the MBRS, this review has examined the agency’s legislative basis, management and oversight structures, and capacity to continue to deliver within its current facilities. The recommendations that will come from this review will ensure that the agency is futureproofed and can continue to provide a high-quality service.

The Road Safety Authority review - the first such review of the organisation since its establishment in 2006 - aims to conduct a thorough and comprehensive examination of its organisational structures, funding model, service provision and strategic goals. This aims to ensure that the Authority is structured appropriately in the years ahead to fulfil its statutory mandate in the context of delivering the Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 . The final report of the RSA Review will be brought to Government for decision this year.

Infrastructure Capacity: Under the aegis of the Major Projects Oversight Group of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, my Department has undertaken a number of reviews with the delivery agencies of the capability to deliver large-scale infrastructure projects and the resourcing requirements. As part of a wider analysis of the delivery capability of the public sector of the NDP, in 2022 my Department submitted an assessment of its Capital Programme Delivery Capability to the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. This unpublished review gave an overview of the Department’s Capital Programmes and the structure, processes, and frameworks used to optimise the Department’s approach to delivering Transport projects in the National Development Plan.

Organisational Excellence: Structured reviews of the Department’s capacity to deliver policy and services are undertaken on a regular basis in the context of the strategic planning process. Action 20 of the Civil Service Renewal Plan (2014) provided for the implementation of a programme of organisational 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 ’.

In light of this, the then Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport was the first Department to undertake an Organisational Capability Review in 2016, under the DPENDR framework (available to view here: ) and later published its associated Action Plan (available to view here: ).

Across 4 thematic pillars of ‘Investing in Our Team’, ‘Communications and Integrated Working’, ‘Stronger Strategic Focus’ and ‘Policy Implementation’, 14 Actions were identified to revitalise and rebuild the capability and capacity of the Department for the future. This led to several organisational improvements such as:

• Strengthening of our corporate functions across the HR Function, including workforce planning and professionalisation of Information Services, Finance and Communications Functions;
• renewed approach to business planning and internal and external communications,
• establishment of dedicated units to oversee overarching policy implementation (such as Brexit, EU matters, Climate) and
• strengthening of our approach to agency governance, including engagement with NewEra.