asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, he has to eliminate wasteful spending in the public sector.
Written Answers. - Wasteful Spending in Public Sector.
48.
While the primary responsibility for ensuring the avoidance of wasteful spending lies with Ministers, Departments and public sector organisations, my Department provides appropriate advice and guidance and monitors the effectiveness of ongoing arrangements for achieving better value for money. Accounting officers of Departments have a particular responsibility in securing efficient management of resources which is the subject of review by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Committee of Public Accounts.
Many improvements in systems and procedures result from reviews carried out by the Management Services Unit of my Department while the Operations Research and Analysis Section carries out specialised studies and appraisals of capital projects such as school building and operational areas such as transport.
The Civil Service Training Centre arranges training in modern management practices designed to improve efficiency and effectiveness. In recent years, the development and use of information technology has been vigorously promoted by the specialised units in the Department. These services are fully availed of by Government Departments and some public bodies. Stringent control on overall staff numbers and grading is also exercised by my Department which arranges the redeployment of staff to areas of greatest need.
In addition to these established ongoing services, the Government have rationalised the allocation of functions between Government Departments and the annual expenditure reviews of the past two years, which are carried out in the context of departmental Estimates preparation, have been impressive in curtailing public expenditure. In particular, they have secured the rationalisation of functions and elimination of duplication by the abolition or merger of State-sponsored bodies.
As part of more recent initiatives, two senior officials from my Department are members of the Efficiency Audit Group established by the Taoiseach in April last.
Furthermore, a review of the role of the Comptroller and Auditor General with a view to securing improved administration, has been completed and proposals in this regard are now being finalised.