Vol. 488 No. 1
59 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Finance if he will pursue the evaluation of public expenditure programmes initiated by his predecessors; and, if so, the Departments or programmes which will be subjected to this review or evaluation in 1999. [5568/98]
The Government intends to pursue a programme of expenditure reviews. It supports the initiative on this matter taken by the previous Administration. As was announced last July, the Government is actively pursuing a programme of reviews.
The Government decided in July 1997 on the first programme of reviews. The Government decision covered the reviews which were to be started in 1997. The Government also considered an indicative list of the reviews which might be started in the second and third years of the programme.
Each review is to be carried out under the aegis of joint Finance and spending Department steering groups. The lead role in the review will be taken by the spending Department.
The reviews are now under way according to the schedule decided by the Government. Steering groups have been established, terms of reference agreed and work on the reviews themselves has begun. I am confident we will see a substantial number of reviews completed by the middle of this year.
Until the first round of reviews are finalised, it is not possible to take firm decisions on the reviews which should be carried out in the next stage. An indicative list of reviews to be undertaken in 1999 has been approved by the Government, but this is provisional. A Government decision on the next round of reviews will take account of the aim, admittedly ambitious, of reviewing all programmes over a three year period, and of the lessons learned from the first round of reviews.
