Written Answers Nos. 37-44
38. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has received outsourcing plans from Health, Education, Justice and Local Government; if he will provide the short-list developed by his reform and delivery office of potential services to be prioritised for outsourcing broken down by Department or agency. [51558/12]
View answerExternal delivery of public services is a key element of the overall Public Service Reform Plan agreed by Government in November 2011. As such, last July, the Government agreed a range of actions aimed at achieving a focussed and integrated approach to external service delivery of non-core processes with the objective of reducing costs and focussing staff on priority areas.
The Government has decided that all proposed new services across the Public Service will be first tested for external service delivery before any approval to provide the service internally will be granted. In this regard, each of the four main sectors; health, education, justice and local government have been asked to prepare detailed benefits-driven external service delivery plans. Plans from the Justice and Local Government sectors have now been received by the Reform and Delivery Office in my Department who are coordinating implementation of the Public Service Reform Plan and I understand that the Health Sector plan is nearing completion. The Reform and Delivery Office is working closely with the Education sector with a view to finalising their plan.
The Reform and Delivery Office has also been engaging with Departments, Offices and Sectors to identify existing services that may be suitable for delivery by external providers with a view to selecting a number of major projects for evaluation. All of this is in line with the Public Service (Croke Park) Agreement which sets out a clear process for engagement and consultation with Public Service employees and their representatives.
39. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list of the Government Departments that have agreed to his request to publish purchase orders over €20,000; and if he will confirm if this same request has been made of local authorities. [51549/12]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware the commitment in the Public Service Reform Plan is that every Purchase Order by a Government Department or Agency for €20,000 or over should be published online by the end of 2012.
My Secretary General wrote to all Secretaries General on March 27th, stating that they should put appropriate processes in place to ensure that this ambitious target is met. That letter also stated that similar arrangements will be required for offices and agencies under each Department’s aegis and asked that this be brought to their attention.
It is the responsibility of all Departments to ensure that this commitment is met by them and by their offices and agencies. I am in the process of collecting the information sought by the Deputy and I will pass on this information when collated.
40. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps being taken to address flood risks within the Shannon basin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51425/12]
View answerThe River Shannon Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) project is the core strategy for addressing flood risk in the Shannon Basin.
The Shannon CFRAM involves an extensive surveying and modelling exercise which is underway at present and it will look at all options for dealing with areas of significant flood risk. The objective of this exercise is to ensure that all flood risk factors are identified and managed in a coordinated way. At the end of the CFRAM process, a flood risk management plan for the Shannon catchment will be available which will set out the analysis of the flood risk on the Shannon and recommended options for managing that risk.
In advance of the completion of the CFRAM work, I can assure the Deputy that it is my intention that constructive dialogue continues with all the main stakeholders. In this regard presentations have been made recently to the Irish Farmers' Association and to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht on the report by Jacobs Engineering on the River Shannon Level Operation Review. The engagement arising from those briefings forms a valuable contribution to the stakeholder and information-gathering aspects of the CFRAM Study.
I am very much aware of the difficulties caused by flooding on the Shannon. I am confident however, that progress can be made towards achieving a balanced and fair solution where the water in the Shannon and its lakes is maintained at levels consistent with the operational needs of navigation, power generation and the welfare of those living directly adjacent to the main river channel.
41. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress made through reform of the procurement services throughout the country; the method that has been applied and the savings that have been achieved in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51431/12]
View answerThe changed economic environment has meant that it is necessary to do “better for less”, providing real value-for-money for the Irish taxpayer by maximising efficiency and eliminating waste.
Since its establishment in 2009, the National Procurement Service (NPS) has reported estimated procurement savings to the end of 2012 under its frameworks of €117m, comprising of €14m in 2010 and a further €35m in 2011 and projected savings of €68m for 2012. In addition, the NPS e-Tenders website generates estimated administrative savings of on average €10m per annum.
It is estimated that €9 billion is spent by public bodies annually on the public procurement of supplies and services. This is a very significant portion of overall spending and it is essential that the Public Service is achieving maximum value for money and operational efficiency in its approach to public procurement. It is for this reason that public procurement is one of the major pillars of key strategic importance under the Government’s Public Service Reform Plan, published in November 2011.
The reform plan includes specific measures to ensure that:
1. aggregated procurement arrangements are utilised across the public service;
2. public bodies have appropriately trained staff to implement procurement reform and to ensure the State is getting value for money; and
3. greater emphasis will be placed on analysing what the State purchases in order to assess other savings that can be made through more efficient procurement methods.
In order to ensure that the necessary elements are in place to implement these ambitious reforms, my Department engaged consultants to undertake a capacity and capability review of the central procurement function to identify the actions required to realise substantial savings in public procurement in the short and medium term. The final report on this review was published in September 2012 and is available on my Department’s website.
Following the review, proposals were recently submitted to Government. These proposals represent a new consolidated and integrated approach to public procurement that includes: integrating procurement policy, strategy and operations in one office through the establishment of a National Procurement Office (under the aegis of my Department) which will be headed by a Chief Procurement Officer; strengthening spend analytics and data management; examining the specifications set out for goods and services; evaluating demand levels to assess how demand (volume) can be reduced; and strengthening vendor and category management. These proposals have now been agreed by Government.
These reforms will lead to reductions in the cost of goods and services; better procurement services at lower cost; introduction of technical standardisation; greater attention to contract management and better problem resolution; greater levels of professionalism among staff responsible for procurement; and better performance management of the central procurement function.
42. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will consider including the following definition of good faith in the Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Bill 2012 a thing is deemed to be done in good faith within the meaning of this Act when it is in fact done honestly, whether it is done negligently or not; and if he will confirm the date by which this legislation will be introduced. [51559/12]
View answer43. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he will introduce the Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Bill. [51553/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 42 and 43 together.
The specific definitions to be included in the Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Bill 2012 are currently being considered by my Department in consultation with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel taking into account submissions made on the legislation and observations received on the General Scheme from the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and other interested parties.
The Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Bill 2012 is included in the Government’s Legislation Programme with an expected publication date early in 2013.
44. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details of the number of semi-State and State agency executives and employees on an agency by agency basis that have salaries of more than €100,000 per year; if he will provide this information in tabular form, detailing any additional allowances, bonuses and the annual cost to the Exchequer of any pension packages to such employees, in terms of tax reliefs or other costs; if he will provide this information for the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51613/12]
View answerIn answer to the Deputy’s question the following is the position in respect of the agencies under the aegis of my Department.
Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
The table hereunder outlines salary details for the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012. With regard to additional allowances, bonuses and annual cost to the Exchequer of pension packages no additional amounts were incurred.
|
Year |
Number of staff |
Salary |
|
2010 |
0 |
- |
|
2011 |
0 |
- |
|
2012 (projected) |
1 |
€104k |
It should be noted that as my Department only covers 50% of the SEUBP staff costs, the cost to the Irish Exchequer for 2012 is €52,000. One officer of the Special EU Programmes Body earned more than €100k in 2012. The employee’s salary has not increased in the period 2010-2012 but as the salary is denominated in sterling, recent exchange rate fluctuations have resulted in salary cost increasing above the 100k threshold.
An Post National Lottery Company
In relation to An Post National Lottery Company which comes under the aegis of my Department I wish to inform the Deputy that pay and pensions issues are a matter for An Post. The information requested regarding salaries, allowances, bonuses and pension packages would therefore be provided by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
