Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 December 2012
277. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a comprehensive list of the shared services initiatives delivered by his Department since it was set up and the corresponding monetary savings to the Exchequer associated with each of the initiatives listed for 2012 and projected saving for 2013. [56481/12]
View answerThe shared services programme is making good progress on actions and timelines committed to in the Public Service Reform Plan, and key developments include the following:
- A Shared Services Transformation Unit has been established within my Department.
- A financial appraisal of the Human Resource function across the Civil Service undertaken earlier this year indicates that implementing a shared service for transactional HR activities in the Civil Service will save around 26% in annual HR FTE costs and reduce the headcount in HR by around 17%, a saving of €12.5m per annum. We expect the Civil Service HR and Pension Administration Shared Service Centre will be fully established in 2014 and the forecasted savings will be €12.5m per annum.
- Preparation for the implementation of this Civil Service Human Resources and Pension Administration Shared Services Centre is well underway. The project team are preparing for the transition of the first tranche of departments in Spring, 2013. The location of the new HR and Pension Administration Shared Service Centre is Clonskeagh; the Head of HR and Pension Administration Shared Service Centre has been recruited; and the selection of staff for the initial service is advanced with staff being released on a phased basis from Departments and Agencies.
- Payroll services administered by the Civil Service have been baselined and a business case to drive greater efficiencies and improved payroll services through Payroll Shared Services is well advanced.
- A project to gather data to baseline current Civil Service Finance Management and Banking activities has commenced.
- A high level review of procurement has been conducted and the appointment of a Chief Procurement Officer has been completed.
- The Shared Services Transformation Unit in my Department is working with nominated senior officials to ensure that ambitious and robust plans are developed and implemented in the other key sectors of Health, Education, Justice, Defence and Local Government.
As each specific shared service project is progressed and approved, specific costings and benefits will be monitored against the benefits forecasted in each business case. As services migrate to a shared services entity, the administrative costs and posts attached to the delivery of those activities in the organisation will be reduced in level accordingly. Detailed arrangements for the transition of budgets and resources will be developed during the design and implementation phases of individual projects.
Overall, I am satisfied with the progress being made. A robust transformation plan is being implemented for the Civil Service and the Shared Services Transformation Unit is working with nominated senior officials to ensure that similar plans and approaches are being taken in other key sectors.
We are building the appropriate expertise, engaging with each key Department in a structured way and ensuring that decisions will be based on strong evidentiary platforms derived from baselines and business cases. International experience shows that this is the best way to realise maximum benefits from shared services over time. Therefore it is not possible at this stage to provide information on actual savings made at this time.
