Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 January 2014
42. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total amount of outsourcing that has been achieved in his Department since the letter sent by Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in March 2012; the names of the outsourcing companies that have been involved; the total savings achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3302/14]
View answerThe core functions of my Department are predominately concerned with policy advice – including areas such as international political and security policy, advancing reconciliation and cooperation on the island of Ireland, EU enlargement and external relations.
The promotion of Ireland’s economic and trading interests overseas is also a strategic priority. My Department, including through the Embassy network, works very closely with other relevant Departments and the State agencies in the promotion of trade, tourism and investment and on initiatives to enhance Ireland’s profile and reputation abroad. These functions must be conducted within my Department.
In addition, my Department manages Ireland’s official development programme, Irish Aid, which already contains significant elements of external delivery as funding is channelled through a range of partners including non-governmental organisations. For policy and governance reasons, my Department retains overall policy direction and management of the programme.
In the support services areas, my Department is actively participating in work on the shared services project in relation to payroll, procurement, financial management and transactional human resources services.
In relation to the passport service, there are important public policy issues of security, integrity and confidentiality to be considered in the production of passports. However, the passport service already has an element of external delivery with over 89% of all applications submitted within the State lodged through the Passport Express service, a joint venture with An Post.
