Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 December 2012
277. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht further to Parliamentary Question No. 237 of 4 December 2012, if he will provide a list of all new services across his Department that have been tested for external service delivery since March 2011. [55425/12]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, a key objective in my Department’s Reform Plan and Croke Park Action Plan is to deliver on the commitment in the Programme for Government to identify and eliminate non-priority programmes and outsource, where appropriate, non-critical functions.
In the context of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure, my Department examined external service delivery options and during that review process, my Department was ever conscious that there are examples across the public service where external service delivery has already provided greater value for money enabling organisations to move their focus from direct provision to core-value added activities. Indeed, in the context of reduced resources and the current economic climate, the key challenge is to prioritise and reduce the cost of service delivery, without compromising on the delivery of services to the public and to employees.
To date, my Department has moved its entire payroll and payment processing function to the Killarney Shared Service. My Department is also currently availing of ICT shared services from the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and shares other infrastructural and accommodation services and costs with a number of public bodies. It might be noted that my Department also currently provides a HR service to a number of the bodies funded from the Department’s Vote Group and is examining options around expanding this service.
As the Deputy may be aware, my Department also has been engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform recently in relation to the conducting of VFM reviews. In this regard, I understand that the process of carrying out such reviews, including through shared services and on an external service basis, is currently being examined centrally.
The Deputy should note that certain services such as cleaning services are provided by external service providers, while in other areas, such as property and facility management, we largely avail of services from the Office of Public Works. It should be noted that my Department has responsibility for the National Parks and Wildlife portfolio and in this regard, my Department manages and operates a number of tourism and visitor sites across the country. We are currently reviewing the business processes and services provided at those sites and examining options around external service delivery. The overall objective will of course be to continue delivering a quality service to our customers at these sites.
It might also be noted that across the heritage services for which this Department is responsible, the Department already outsources and uses external service providers for technical advice, engineering services and some architectural services and this has proved very cost effective. In the context of the staffing gaps and expertise gaps arising in the Department in recent times, including the need to refocus and prioritise work, we are examining further options and possible alternative delivery mechanisms in order to achieve cost savings and to have prompt access as required to specific technical skills. This will also enable us to focus on core valued-added activities.
One of the key sectoral reforms for my Department as outlined in its High-Level Reform Plan, is the delivery of an electronic Property Management System, which will record all properties and land in the ownership and care of the Department. A new unit within the National Parks and Wildlife Division of the Department has been established to progress this project, including the examination of options around outsourcing and delivering elements of the project through an external service provider, with the required technical expertise.
