Enda Kenny
Ceist:7 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the costs which have accrued to his Department in respect of the National Centre for Partnership and Performance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29714/03]
Written Answers. - National Centre for Partnership.
Enda Kenny
Ceist:8 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the recent work of the National Economic and Social Development Office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29715/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 8 together.
The National Economic and Social Development Office, NESDO, comprises the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, the National Economic and Social Forum, NESF, and the National Centre for Partnership and Performance, NCPP. Legislation underpinning the establishment of NESDO is currently on Second Stage in the Dáil and when enacted will place the three bodies on a statutory basis as part of the office.
Over the past year, NESDO has overseen the provision of new accommodation for its constituent bodies in Parnell Square. All the staff of these bodies are for the first time located in one building. Not only does this facilitate the sharing by the three bodies of administrative costs and overheads, but also the sharing of knowledge and ideas and the devising of complementary work programmes.
That was particularly evident during the preparation of work on the recent NESC report, An Investment in Quality; Services, Inclusion and Enterprise, No. 110 of November 2002, when both the NESF and NCPP had a considerable input into the drafting of this report. Another example of this type of co-operation between the constituent bodies was evident over the past two months when the NCPP linked with the NESC and NESF in developing teams for each of the panels on the forum on the workplace of the future.
NESDO has also produced its policies and procedures statement that defines the functions and responsibilities of NESDO in regard to its constituent bodies and outlines its financial and human resources policies and procedures as well as its customer service principles. The statement is currently being circulated to staff for their observations before formal adoption by the board of NESDO.
Regarding the NCPP specifically, the centre was established to provide a strategic focus to the deepening of partnership and improvement of performance in the workplace in both the private and public sectors. It is doing this by developing models of good practice in the area of partnership and improved performance. Examples of the centre's work under this heading include the publication of case studies of good practice in the private sector, a recent conference on best practice in the area of information and consultation within organisations and ongoing work on the development of guidelines on innovative forms of employee financial involvement.
A second strand of the centre's work is the development of practical supports for those involved in managing change through partnership. Examples of the centre's work in this area include the development and promotion of a competency framework identifying the behaviours, attitudes and skills necessary for the effective management of change through partnership and the establishment of an interactive facility on the centre's website designed to educate and inform those interested in improving performance through partnership.
As a third strand of its work, the centre is in the business of promoting partnership and performance. Activities in this area include the recent publication of a major review of the international experience of partnership, highlighting its value as a positive force for change, and the centre's ongoing work with its strategic alliance network, consisting of Departments and agencies concerned with workplace issues and with the research advisory panel, a national network of leading Irish researchers in relevant disciplines.
The fourth strand of the centre's work is to further develop our overall thinking on how workplaces, in both the private and public sectors, can best adapt to competitive pressures, improve the delivery of services and respond to the changing needs of employees. It is doing this through the recently established forum on the workplace of the future which the centre both services and oversees. The forum is the main focus of the centre's work at present. Its opening plenary session was held in Dublin Castle on 6 and 7 October. The four expert panels established to support it have held a number of meetings, most recently on 9 December. The forum is scheduled to report in autumn 2004.
To assist in the work of the forum, a consultation paper was published in July and a major survey was commissioned on employer and employee attitudes and experiences. The paper and preliminary survey results are available on the centre's website, together with the centre's other publications. The costs which have accrued to my Department since the centre's establishment in 2001 to date are just over €2.26 million.
Question No. 9 resubmitted.