Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021
54. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the key recommendations for his Department of the recent report Supporting Excellence: Capital Project and Programme Delivery Review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20399/21]
View answerIn early March, the Department published a report, Supporting Excellence: Capital Project and Programme Review Delivery. Will the Minister outline how this report and its contents will mean a better delivery of projects for the public?
I thank the Deputy for raising this question on behalf of Deputy Lawless. The Supporting Excellence: Capital Project and Programme Review Delivery report to which the Deputy referred was produced by EY for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and funded by the European Commission’s structural reform support programme. It is a key interim output for the ongoing review of the national development plan, NDP.
The report identifies a range of strengths and weaknesses in the public capital delivery system. It highlights that there are many examples of best practice throughout the public service but there are also some areas where enhancements are required. It identifies that these challenges are experienced most acutely by those entities and sectors that have limited experience in substantial capital programme delivery, or those which, through a hiatus of investment activity over a number of years, have had their expertise and resource base eroded. However, the capability challenges vary by sector and entity and they need to be better understood and addressed on this basis.
The report proposes several solutions to the various challenges but recognises that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution and the need for supports and initiatives must be tailored to the entity, sector and industry challenges. The report also recommends that when assessing the maturity of programme capability, a focus should be placed upon the sectors and sector programmes which do not currently have a singular asset delivery specialist but are forecasting increased activity and scale through their mandate under the NDP. Many of the solutions being proposed in the report are supportive of the reform agenda already under way, including developing an external assurance review process for major infrastructure projects and connecting construction professionals, while other recommendations address a need for clear and co-ordinated supports from the centre.
There was a great deal in the report, covering both pluses and minuses, as the Minister has outlined. One of the issues that arose in the report was a fragmented approach on capital programme delivery across Government, which was resulting in silos forming and that the sharing of information and knowledge was, therefore, being curtailed. Will the Minister outline how this will be dealt with and what learnings will be taken from the report in this area so that there will be better sharing and exchanging of information and learnings between different sectors?
I assure the Deputy that we are acting on the recommendations made in this report. An action team for the Supporting Excellence: Capital Project and Programme Delivery Review report has now been convened and work is under way to maintain the momentum of delivery and implementation.
On the issue Deputy Moynihan raised, I have confirmed a number of important reforms. I am setting up a new major projects advisory group involving people with expertise and experience in delivering major public capital programmes. It will advise my Department in its assessment of projects. In addition, I am expanding the membership of the Project Ireland 2040 delivery board to include up to five external members, who I think will bring a fresh perspective and their own life experience to bear as well. In addition, there will be a panel of experts available to sponsoring Departments to try to address the deficit the Deputy touched on, and to address the pluses and minuses which are outlined in the report. The panel of experts is going to be put together very shortly.
The report also highlights the need for a dedicated centre of excellence. I am not sure if that is the group of experts to which the Minister referred or if is intended that there will be a separate stand-alone dedicated centre of excellence. I ask the Minister to clarify that point.
Will the report be of use in tackling the issues that arose with the new children's hospital and in making sure that the likes of that will not occur again?
It is undoubtedly the case that lessons need to be learned from the national children's hospital. That is one of the reasons I have focused on introducing these reforms to the oversight of the delivery of major public capital projects. If the Deputy looks at the three measures that I have outlined, I refer to the setting up of a panel of experts to advise Departments at critical decision gates, for example, before a project goes to tender to ensure that all of the work in the detailed appraisal has been completed properly. To my mind, analysis and work done in advance of pressing the button is time and resources well spent because it pre-empts and prevents problems that would otherwise likely arise. That is a key reform. The establishment of a major projects advisory group to advise my Department will also assist in better decision-making for the Government and in ensuring we get a speedy and efficient delivery of the public capital programme.
