Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 September 2017
47. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has revised the method of cost-benefit analysis currently in use for transport and infrastructure projects; and if he is satisfied with the current method for assessing such projects. [40454/17]
View answerThe Public Spending Code is the set of rules and procedures that apply to ensure that value for money standards are maintained across the public service. The Code draws together the long-established elements of value for money arrangements that have been in place and validated over many years.
The objective of the Code is to seek to ensure that the State achieves value for money in all areas of public spending. Consequently, the Code applies to both capital and current expenditure and sets out what is required of public service managers at each point of the expenditure lifecycle as well as how to fulfil those requirements.
The Public Spending Code encompasses guidance on a variety of issues related to the management of expenditure at each stage of the expenditure lifecycle. This includes central guidance on the application of appraisal and evaluation methodologies including cost benefit analysis. This methodological guidance aims to enhance consistency across sectors through common approaches and the use of key technical parameter values needed for quantifying costs and conducting economic appraisals.
The Public Spending Code is currently under review. The review of the Public Spending Code involves economic and evaluation resources within Government Departments ensuring that the appraisal framework meets best practice and the best available advice on measuring and reporting on the costs and benefits, including their distributional impacts, associated with climate change.
Additional sectoral specific appraisal guidance has been developed in certain areas by relevant Departments, in consultation with my Department, to further detail specific approaches related to that sector. For instance, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has published the Common Appraisal Framework for Transport Projects and Programmes. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport have developed parameters and methodology for appraising the impacts on journey reliability, public transport crowding conditions, and reliability.
In parallel with and drawing on similar work being done in my Department for the Public Spending Code, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport intend to update and improve their guidance on how to carry out a multi-criteria analysis, in order to make it clearer to practitioners what is expected of this type of appraisal. They are also updating transport related parameters and will update any central and macroeconomic parameters in line with DPER guidance. More specific information on transport specific sectoral guidance is available on request from the Department for Transport, Tourism and Sport. In this regard, the Deputy may also be interested in the information on appraisal available on the Department's website http://www.dttas.ie/corporate/english/appraisal.
Finally, it is expected that the updated Public Spending Code will be able to better inform public investment decisions. The updated Public Spending Code will be kept under ongoing review to ensure sound decision-making based on the best available analysis and assumptions in light of technical knowledge, best practice guidance and experience of the application of the Code in practice.
