Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 November 2012
135. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of bodies that have been abolished or amalgamated by his Department out of the list of bodies listed in the public service reform document of 17 November 2011; the savings or cost of this in 2012; the projected savings or cost of this programme in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50544/12]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the radical streamlining of State bodies is a key deliverable of the Public Service Reform Plan, published in November 2011. This streamlining includes 48 rationalisation measures to be implemented by the end of 2012, as well as a further 46 critical reviews to take place by the end of June 2012. Details of the bodies involved are set out in Appendices IIa and IIb of the Plan which can be found at: http://reformplan.per.gov.ie/files/2012/01/Public-Service-Reform-28112011.pdf .
On 31 October 2012, I updated my cabinet colleagues in relation to the agency rationalisation programme, which included progress on the merger of the Commission on Public Service Appointments with the Ombudsman’s Office, which are under the aegis of my Department.
I am glad to say that this merger has been completed and is legislated for in the Ombudsman Amendment Act which was recently passed. From the outset I have maintained that the real benefit from the rationalisation of state agencies will be a less crowded administrative landscape resulting in greater democratic accountability, less duplication of effort and clearer lines of responsibility. As this measure was completed on an administrative basis on 1 October 2010, any potential savings from the measure would have been taken into account in the overall consideration of the 2012 Revised Estimates for the CPSA and the Office of the Ombudsman and was reflected in their respective allocations.
