Terence Flanagan
Question:240. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform her Department's priorities for the remainder of this Dáil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29590/15]
View answerThursday, 16 July 2015
Questions (240)
Written answers
In answer to the Deputy's question my priorities for the remainder of my term in office are consistent with the priorities outlined previously in the Statement of Government Priorities 2014-2016.
In the area of responsible and sustainable management of the public finances, in addition to working towards maintaining the current stable economic environment, my Department will ensure that overall voted expenditure is managed to facilitate Ireland's successful exit from the Excessive Deficit Procedure at the end of 2015. In Budget 2016, we will look to set out increased allocations for overall Departmental spending that will allow Government to deal with underlying demographic pressures in key areas such as Social Protection, Education and Health and to target enhancements in key public services. We also intend to set out the results of the review of the public capital investment needs of the State identifying priority areas for investment to ensure that our limited resources are focused on the areas that can best support continued, sustainable and equitable growth. This will culminate in the publication of a new five year envelope for the period 2016-2020 in September.
Turning to public service pay, I intend to bring forward, subject to ratification of the Lansdowne Road Agreement by Public Services Committee of ICTU, amending legislation to FEMPI Acts to facilitate implementation of the agreement from 1 January 2016. More generally, I will continue to prioritise the continued management of the Public Service Pay and Pensions bill in a sustainable way to help meet the fiscal requirements of Stability and Growth Pact.
To aid and assist the rebuilding of trust in politics and public institutions my Department has already introduced significant political reforms. To further this my Department's key priorities in the area of government reform include the priority drafting and publication of the Public Sector Standards Bill, the commencement of the Regulation of Lobbying regime from 1 September 2015, the introduction of publication schemes for public bodies under FOI, the finalisation of guidance for public bodies in performing their functions under the Protected Disclosures Act, 2014 and the continued implementation of both the Open Data Initiative and the Open Government Partnership National Action Plan.
The wider process of Public Service Reform is a key element of the Government's overall strategy for recovery. Led by my Department, the reforms delivered over the past four years have enabled us to maintain and improve public services in the face of the necessary reduction in staff numbers and budgets, at a time of increased demand for public services. Our key priority in this area is continuing to drive, co-ordinate and support the implementation of the Government's Public Service Reform Plan 2014-16. We are half way through the lifetime of this Plan and strong progress has been made on its implementation, as set out in the Annual Progress Report published in March. Ongoing priorities include more online delivery of services and improved engagement with service users; implementation of shared services and alternative models of service delivery; more efficient and effective public procurement and property management; and increased accountability and transparency in public decision making.
Turning to renewal of the civil service, following the successful delivery of the 'first 200 days' milestone last week, my Department is also playing a leading role in implementing the remaining actions and achieving the ambitious programme of change in the Civil Service Renewal Plan. This represents a major programme to support the future development and enhance the capacity of the Civil Service to ensure that it provides a world-class service to the State and to the people of Ireland.
Reform of procurement across public service and the development of the Office of Government Procurement remains a priority. Procurement of supplies and services represents a very significant portion of overall Government spending. The Office of Government Procurement is tasked with delivering the Procurement Reform Programme enabling the public service to achieve economies of scale and maximum value for money in this area.
Shared Services is a key element of the Public Service Reform Plan and remains a core priority for my Department. The National Shared Services Office in my Department is directly responsible for Shared Service delivery and strategy in the Civil Service. It also supports other Public Service sectors as they implement Shared Services. Transitions to the Civil Service HR and Pensions Administration Shared Service Centre (PeoplePoint) and the Payroll Shared Service Centre (PSSC) will continue as a priority during 2016. When fully operational, PeoplePoint will service 31,500 public service employees and the PSSC will support 120,000 payees.
In January 2015, I launched the Public Service ICT Strategy - "Delivering better outcomes and efficiency through innovation and excellence in ICT". Building on the successful delivery of many existing services, the Strategy sets out how we can operate in a more efficient, shared and integrated manner across all of Government while delivering new and innovative digital services to citizens and businesses. Innovative use of ICT in the Public Service will deliver better value for taxpayers by creating efficiencies through integration, consolidation and sharing of common infrastructure, systems and resources. The Strategy sets out five key strategic objectives which are setting the future direction for innovation and excellence in ICT in Public Service. In parallel with developing a Strategic Implementation Plan, my Department is continuing to work with Departments to prioritise projects which support the transformation, modernisation and digitisation of the main citizen and business transactional services across the Public Service.
My Department and I will also continue to work towards protecting and enhancing peace in Northern Ireland and will continue to develop the North-South institutions.
In addition to the above high level priorities, I intend to continue to progress the other relevant commitments under the Programme for Government for which my Department is responsible.