Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2004
513 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his Department has achieved the target, set out in the initiation of the expenditure review initiative in 1997, that all Government expenditure be subject to a formal review under that initiative every three years; and if not, the areas of expenditure in respect of which the three yearly review has not taken place. [17581/04]
View answer514 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the areas of expenditure of his Department in respect of which an expenditure review under the expenditure review initiative has not yet been completed and published. [17596/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 513 and 514 together.
The initial target of the expenditure review initiative was to review all expenditure programmes over a three-year period. A review of the process by the Department of Finance and the expenditure review central steering committee in 2000-01 found that the target had been over-ambitious, however, and that a more focused approach to the selection of review topics was required. This view was supported by the Comptroller and Auditor General's 2001 value for money study of the initiative, which proposed that a more realistic target should be set that took into account the level of evaluative capacity in Departments generally.
In June 2001 the Government decided, inter alia, that the Department of Finance and individual Departments and offices should compile and agree a work plan of review topics based on specific selection criteria. It was decided that the programmes selected for review should reflect Government priorities or strategic result areas, or should involve significant levels of expenditure, etc. In May 2002, the Government approved a schedule of expenditure review topics proposed for the first year of the next three-year planning horizon, 2002-04, and noted the topics proposed for 2003 and 2004.
In April 2003, the expenditure review central steering committee asked Departments and offices to update their expenditure review plans, again in consultation with the Department of Finance. The committee emphasised the Government's selection criteria and advised Departments and offices to select a small number of programmes and areas involving major policy issues or significant levels of expenditure. Revised expenditure review plans were drawn up by Departments and offices on foot of this process.
My Department has engaged fully in the expenditure review initiative to date. Two expenditure reviews have been completed recently, but have not yet been published. The first is a review of courthouse maintenance and building refurbishment in the Courts Service. The review is awaiting approval by the board of the Courts Service. When it has been approved by the board, it will be submitted to the Department of Finance's central steering committee on programme evaluation. The second review, which relates to the Prison Service's health care expenditure between 1997 and 2002, will be forwarded shortly to the central steering committee. Both reviews will be published on the Department's website following consideration by the central steering committee.
