Written Answers Nos. 20-29
20. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reforms that have taken place since the PeoplePoint service became operational in March 2013 in the area of shared services; and if there have been or will be reductions in public service staff numbers as a result of shared services programmes, including PeoplePoint. [9304/14]
View answerShared Services is a key element of the Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016. Significant progress has been made in relation to Shared Services, both as a concept and business solution since the publication of the original Reform Plan in 2011. PeoplePoint, the Civil Service Transactional HR and Pensions Shared Services Centre, is the most advanced of our Shared Services projects. 6 more Public Services Bodies transitioned to PeoplePoint earlier this month.
There are now over 24,000 employees serviced by PeoplePoint across 19 Public Service Bodies. The remainder of the in scope Bodies will transition during 2014. At this point, the forecasted savings are €12.5m per annum with a reduction of 149 full time equivalent staff working in transactional Human Resources activities. PeoplePoint will also yield non-financial benefits including improved efficiency, consistency and service delivery.
The Civil Service Payroll Shared Service Centre, based in 3 locations: Galway, Killarney and Tullamore will consolidate and integrate payroll processes and practices from the 17 payroll centres currently providing payroll services to 53 Public Services Bodies. During 2014, 27 of the 53 in-scope Bodies will transition into the Payroll Shared Services Centre, over a series of two waves.
Garda and Prison Officer payrolls already transitioned from the Department of Justice and Equality late last year.
When fully operational, and providing payroll services to all 53 in scope Bodies, it is estimated that the PSSC will achieve savings of €5.6 million per annum. The Business Case indicates that the number of FTEs required to provide payroll services will be reduced by c. 16% (56 FTE).
In December of last year, the Government agreed that emerging EU and international requirements make an undeniable case for change and directed that the Financial Management Shared Services Project proceed to the next phase. The Project covers 48 Public Service Bodies, primarily in the Civil Service, Defence and Justice Sectors. The initial scoping phase of the project has already been completed and it is estimated that sustainable savings in the region of €14.6 million, or over 30%, per annum could be achieved once a shared services solution has been fully implemented. A Financial Management Shared Services Centre would allow transactional activities such as invoice processing to be managed in a streamlined way. It would also reduce the number of processing centres from twenty down to three. Estimations of expected staff savings will be validated during this phase of the Project.
I expect to return to Government seeking approval to proceed to implementation of the Financial Management Shared Services within the next year. Work is underway to record the savings in the costs of HR associated with the reduction in staffing required to deliver HR and Pensions services to the Civil Service and to capture the non-financial benefits associated with PeoplePoint. A consistent approach will be taken to the measurement of benefits across all Shared Services projects.
21. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the sale of the new national lottery licence will be completed. [9438/14]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, Premier Lotteries Ireland Limited, a consortium comprising Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (the owner of the Camelot Group), An Post and An Post pension funds, has been selected as the preferred applicant for the next National Lottery licence. Discussions on finalising the terms of the licence have been taking place between my Department and the preferred applicant. It is expected that these discussions will conclude shortly and will be followed by the signature of the licence.
22. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on whether all public expenditure commitments in the programme for Government will be delivered. [9440/14]
View answerThe Government is making strong progress on achieving our targets and priorities regarding the expenditure commitments, as articulated in the Programme for Government. Sustainable public finances are a pre-requisite for economic stability and growth. This Government has therefore pursued a determined deficit reduction strategy. We are committed to reaching the 3% of GDP target for the General Government Deficit by the target date of end-2015. This is a challenging target and one that is set against a difficult economic background which has required fiscal corrections in the form of significant consolidation to voted expenditure. The consolidation measures introduced by this Government have ensured Ireland's successful exit from the EU-IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland. To fully appreciate the scale of the consolidation it must be noted that it has been achieved in the context of increasing demands on public services in particular in the areas of Social Protection, Health and Education.
In order to ensure effective prioritisation of public expenditure, this Government committed to examining all areas of public spending. In 2011, the first Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE) was undertaken and the Comprehensive Expenditure Report was published on 5 December 2011. This document set out three year current expenditure ceilings on an administrative basis for all Departments from 2012-2014. The Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2013, enacted in July 2013, put the arrangements for these three year expenditure ceilings on a statutory basis.
Changes introduced in relation to the annual estimates process should facilitate more effective financial scrutiny by the Oireachtas Select Committees. Performance budgeting has now been rolled out for all Departments and provides information about the services being purchased with public money and the impacts of these services for society in general.
The Government is committed to making fundamental changes to the way the public service operates to safeguard the delivery of essential services while obtaining value for money for the citizen. Critical to this are the second phase of the Public Service Reform Plan which I launched earlier this year allied with the Haddington Road Agreement, both of which are delivering important workplace efficiencies and enhanced productivity.
I established a new Office of Government Procurement to centralise the procurement of common goods and services across the public service and achieve targeted savings of up to €500m over a three year period, of which €127m savings is targeted in 2014. One of the key priorities of this reform is improving the capacity of SMEs to tender for public sector contracts in order to support innovative Irish firms.
There has also been progress on the introduction of shared services. PeoplePoint, the new Human Resources Shared Services Centre opened in 2013 and the Civil Service Payroll Shared Service Centre commenced in December 2013. Further work is ongoing to progress shared services projects in the areas of Banking and Financial Management services for Government bodies, Learning and Development services and in each of the health, education and local government sectors.
This Government is bringing public expenditure back onto a sustainable path and the delivery of commitments relating to the public service reform agenda should ensure that efficiencies and reformed work practices play a full part in contributing to the overall budgetary consolidation effort which is essential to achieving economic recovery.
23. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of JobBridge interns who have been employed by his Department who have subsequently been offered full-time employment in his Department since the scheme was first initiated. [9437/14]
View answerNo JobBridge interns who have been employed by my Department were subsequently offered full time employment with my Department.
24. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the date on which he intends to publish the public sector sick leave regulations provided for under the recently enacted Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments)(Amendment) Act 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9436/14]
View answerThe implementation of the new single sick leave scheme for the public service generally will commence next month. The effective date for the new scheme will be 31 March 2014. The scheme is being introduced through Ministerial Regulations which are provided for in the recently enacted Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments)(Amendment) Act 2013. The drafting of these Regulations has been a priority for my Department working closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel since the relevant legislation was enacted at the end of last year. The Regulations are currently at an advanced stage of preparation and will be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas as soon as possible. Preparations are also at an advanced stage to ensure an effective roll out of the new sick leave scheme once the Regulations come into effect.
25. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the total proceeds that will accrue from the sale of Bord Gáis Energy; the way these funds will be deployed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9447/14]
View answerAs I have previously informed the House, a consortium comprising Centrica plc, Brookfield Renewable Power Inc and iCON Infrastructure has been selected as preferred bidder for Bord Gáis Energy on the basis of a bid that puts an enterprise value of up to €1.12bn on the business. As the sale agreements have yet to be finalised, it would be inappropriate for me to comment in further detail, but the terms of the sale will be outlined in due course when the deal has been signed.
In relation to the use to which these funds will be put, the House will be aware of the Government's consistent position that the funds released from asset disposals should be used, in one form or another, to support job creating initiatives in the economy. At Budget time, I factored a total of €110m into the Estimates for 2014 in respect of projects supported from the sale of State assets. €45m of this will fund part of the advance works associated with the new PPP Programme. Specifically, €25m will be spent on the Grangegorman project and €20m on road PPPs. The remaining €65m will be spent on the continued roll-out of the additional Exchequer investment projects announced in 2013 (€25m on Energy and €40m on Schools). Additional elements of this Stimulus Plan will be rolled out as the various asset sale transactions are completed and monies are available.
26. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will outline the next phase of the proposed financial management shared services project for the Civil Service, defence and justice sectors; the savings and efficiencies expected; the proposed location for the financial management shared services centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9305/14]
View answerLast December, the Government agreed to proceed to the next stage of a Financial Management Shared Services Project for the Civil Service, Defence and Justice sectors. The initial scoping phase of the project has already been completed and represents an undeniable case for change. It is estimated that sustainable savings in the region of €14.6 million, or over 30%, per annum could be achieved once a shared services solution has been fully implemented.
The number of sites for this type of work would reduce from 20 currently down to 3. The three sites that will accommodate the Financial Management Shared Services Centre are: the Department of Defence, Galway; the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform site, Tullamore; and the Department of Justice and Equality, Killarney. These locations have been selected on the basis of an objective assessment of the level of skills and facilities available and the ability to attract staff from across the Public Service.
A formal Request for Tenders to support the work of the Project Team during the current phase of work has issued on the eTenders website operated by the Office of Government Procurement. The process is fully open and in line with all relevant EU requirements. The work will entail documenting the detailed finance business requirements, developing the technology design and redesigning a single chart of accounts.
A detailed implementation timeline and scope has not yet been developed pending the completion of this analysis. Once this phase is completed, a further submission will be made to Government to proceed to full implementation.
27. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to review the practice of adding years of reckonable service for pension purposes in the case of retiring public servants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9444/14]
View answerIn case there is some confusion on the matter, I want to state clearly that the circumstances whereby a retiring civil or public servant may benefit from an award of added years of reckonable service for the purposes of calculating superannuation benefits are very limited.
Professional Added Years Schemes:
These schemes apply to certain professional, technical and specialist posts in both the Civil and Public Service. Subject to certain conditions, they provide for the granting of added years in cases where the minimum essential requirements of a competition are such that they would prohibit a candidate from entering the civil/public service in sufficient time to acquire maximum service and, by extension, the candidate would be unable to accrue maximum superannuation benefits.
There is, for example, a specific provision within the Local Government superannuation arrangements to award professional added years to officers employed in certain specified professional grades. Added years could also be applied at the discretion of the Governing Bodies of a number of Universities but these discretions have since transferred to the Minister for Education and Skills and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform acting jointly under Section 11 of the Financial Measures Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009 - the legislation that provided for the transfer of the relevant pension funds to the National Pension Reserve Fund.
Ill-Health/Death in Service:
Added years may be granted in the Civil and Public Service in cases of retirement on the grounds of ill-health. Added years may also be granted where a Survivors pension is being awarded in circumstances where the civil or public servant dies while still in service.
Section 6 of the Superannuation Act 1909 and Sections 6 and 7 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act 1963
These set out rules governing the early retirement of Civil Servants as a result of abolition of office or for the purpose of facilitating improvements in order to effect greater efficiency and economy in the organisation of a Department. Section 6 of the 1963 Act provides for the granting of added years. In the wider Public Service these provisions serve as guidelines in dealing with similar cases.
Secretaries General/City & County Managers
The provisions of the 1909 and 1963 Acts may also apply to Secretaries General at the end of their contracts, with similar provisions applying to City & County Managers under the Local Government Superannuation Scheme. However as the Deputy is aware I have already reviewed the practice of awarding added years to retiring Secretaries General and City & County Managers.
The Government agreed to my proposal on 25th October 2011 to end this practice for any Secretary-General appointed after that date. Subsequently - in conjunction with my colleague, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government - legislation was passed in 2012, (S.I. 291 of 2012) ending the automatic entitlement to added years for retiring City and County Managers appointed after July 26th 2012.
Single Scheme:
The Deputy may also wish to note that the Single Pension Scheme for the Public Service ("Single Scheme") which came into effect from 1 January 2013 removes entirely the concept of added years for any new entrant who joins the public service from that date.
28. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way he believes the European Investment Bank can be best used to complement public expenditure to maximise economic growth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9449/14]
View answerOne of the key ways in which the Exchequer Public Capital Programme is supplemented, is by the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) which are primarily funded up-front from non-Exchequer sources. The sourcing of funding for PPPs is led by the Department of Finance working with the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), and all Irish PPPs are reviewed for suitability for EIB funding.
The EIB has long been an investor in Ireland's PPP programme and we continue to engage with the EIB which remains supportive to Ireland's recovering capital market. EIB have committed to support our €1.5bn PPP programme which was announced in the July 2012 Stimulus Package. Positive engagement is on-going and EIB has indicated its commitment to fund the Grangegorman Campus project and for the roads PPPs in particular. This continues the strong backing shown by the EIB who have invested in a number of Irish PPPs which are currently in operation, especially in the roads sector. Most recently, the EIB provided €75m of funding for the N11/Newlands Cross road project in April 2013 and €50m for the Schools Bundle 3 project in November 2012.
In recent times, EIB has also provided funding for our traditional Exchequer-funded capital programme. While this does not provide additionality to the Exchequer investment plans, it has been an important source of finance for the Exchequer, providing funds on more favourable terms than were otherwise available to the State at the time.
In 2012, a loan of €100m for the Exchequer Schools Programme was signed. In 2013 a second tranche of €100m was provided for schools, a loan of €200m was provided for the Water Services Investment Programme and funding for the LUAS Cross City project was also secured. The EIB is also a valued investor in the commercial semi-state sector and has provided substantial investment especially to our energy sector. In this way, the EIB is important in supporting the enhancement of our national economic infrastructure in particular. We look forward to continued positive engagement with the EIB into the future.
