Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
42. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the last occasion on which a Department-wide review of all funding within his Department took place; the frequency of such reviews; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40633/21]
View answerAs part of the programme of Public Sector Review following on from the financial crash, a process of Comprehensive Spending Reviews was instigated for all Government Departments. The first round of such Reviews were conducted over the budgetary period 2012-2014. The second such round of Reviews covered the period 2015 to 2017. My Department used both these series of Reviews to review expenditure across all of our programmes so as to ensure that the best value for money was being achieved from the public monies provided to our Vote.
Aside from the series of Comprehensive Spending Reviews, the public sector reform programme also introduced a series of rolling, selective reviews to cover the totality of Government spending. The Spending Review process allows for the systematic examination of existing spending programmes to assess their effectiveness in meeting policy objectives and also to identify scope for re-allocating funding to meet expenditure priorities. My Department has engaged intensively with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and particularly with Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) of that Department in the various Spending Review rounds since their inception. As parts of these Reviews, evaluations of a number of the Department’s programmes have been carried out by both the Department and by IGEES. The Reports of these evaluations can be accessed on the IGEES website.
Aside from the foregoing reviews, my Department regularly engages with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to the various programmes being funded through our Vote.
It is important that Government Departments systematically examine their spending programmes to assess their effectiveness in meeting policy objectives and achieving the best value for money. My Department is fully committed to doing so through the aforementioned Spending Reviews and related processes.
