Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 May 2023
139. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the extent to which reform continues to be a part of the vision for his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22337/23]
View answer141. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the extent to which reforms remain constant and effective in the delivery of his Department's mission statement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22339/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 141 together.
My Department's mission is to serve the public interest through sound governance of public expenditure and by leading and enabling reform across the Civil and Public Service.
Since its establishment my Department has led on and introduced a range of reforms including:
• expenditure reforms and innovations in policy-making to support the management of expenditure at sustainable levels in a planned, rational and balanced manner to support Ireland’s economic development and social progress;
• digital transformation of our public services;
• a legislative programme to enhance trust and transparency across government;
• better data sharing and management to inform policy and service delivery;
• the delivery of relevant, high quality Open Data, that is accessible to all;
• successive Civil Service Renewal and Public Service reform programmes which have been aimed at improving how the Civil and Public Services deliver their functions and services, HR changes to support better performance, learning and development, embedding innovation and new ways of working; and
• the establishment of structures such as the National Shared Services Office (NSSO) and the Office for Government Procurement to secure efficiencies.
The Deputy may wish to note other recent initiatives. In March, I secured government approval for a package of significant actions to enhance delivery of the National Development Plan. These changes will reduce the administrative burden in delivering major capital projects. Actions include, replacing the Public Spending Code with a set of Infrastructure Guidelines to allow non-major projects to proceed through the appraisal and evaluation process more speedily than those of greater scale and complexity; and reforms to the Capital Works Management Framework.
Last week, I launched Better Public Services, a new strategy for public service transformation to 2030, which is aimed at delivering for the public and building trust. The vision set out in the strategy is for ‘Inclusive, high quality and integrated Public Service provision that meets the needs, and improves the lives, of the people of Ireland’. The strategy, which is available on my Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/publication/80247-better-public-services-public-service-transformation-2030-strategy/, aligns with Civil Service Renewal 2030 and is framed around three themes; Digital and Innovation at Scale, Workforce and Organisation of the Future and Evidence-informed policy and services designed for and with our public. The strategy will support each sector of the Public Service to achieve their own sectoral level reform programmes and help the Public Service play its part in meeting the challenges we face.
My Department is leading an initiative to support public service organisations to use design to deliver high quality services which are accessible, inclusive and sustainable. Design Principles for the Irish Public Service were launched in October 2022. The next phase of this initiative will produce an Action Plan to embed design in public service organisations.
Furthermore, in line with a Programme for Government commitment, officials are working with Civil Society representatives to craft Ireland’s Fourth National Action Plan under the Open Government Partnership, a multilateral initiative currently comprising 76 countries worldwide with the objective of enhancing transparency, accountability and public participation in government.
Additionally, my Department is also currently developing a new Open Data strategy which will aim to continue to strengthen our networks and improve communications between data publishers and users to ensure the transparency, quality and relevance of open data.
My Department continues to promote evidence-informed policy making across Government. The Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) is a cross-departmental service organised from my Department. In 2022, IGEES staff carried out a significant volume of analysis including the production and publication of 20 Spending Review papers.
Officials in my Department continue to promote the highest standards of transparency and accountability through Government reform. The recently enacted Protected Disclosures Act 2022 creates improved reporting channels and procedures for individuals who wish to raise concerns about potential wrongdoing.
Procurement reform remains a key priority. The recently issued Circular 05/2023 advances further initiatives to support small and medium enterprises in competing for Government contracts. The Office for Government Procurement is currently in the process of launching a new eTenders platform to further support digital procurement and a programme of training for buyers and suppliers is on using this system currently underway.
The digital agenda also plays an important role in ongoing reform. The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer continues to advance reform initiatives including building public trust through the effective operation of the Data Governance Board, expanding internal services through the Build to Share suite of applications, supporting public engagement through ongoing development of the gov.ie platform, and leading on initiatives such as the national low latency platform.
