Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2004
203 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his Department has achieved the target, set out in the initiation of the expenditure review initiative in 1997, that all Government expenditure be subject to a formal review under that initiative every three years; and if not, the areas of expenditure in respect of which the three yearly review has not taken place. [17575/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra204 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the areas of expenditure of his Department in respect of which an expenditure review under the expenditure review initiative has not yet been completed and published. [17590/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 203 and 204 together.
The initial target of the expenditure review initiative, ERI, was to review all expenditure programmes over a three-year period. However, a review of the process by the Department of Finance-expenditure review central steering committee in 2000-01 found that this target had been over-ambitious and that a more focused approach to the selection of review topics was required. This view was supported by a value for money study of the ERI, carried out by the Comptroller and Auditor General in 2001, which proposed that a more realistic target should be set which would take into account the level of evaluative capacity in departments generally.
In June 2001, the Government decided, inter alia, that the Department of Finance and individual Departments and offices should compile and agree a work plan of review topics, based on specific selection criteria — that is, that programmes selected for review should reflect Government priorities or strategic result areas or involve significant levels of expenditure, etc. Subsequently, in May 2002 the Government approved a schedule of expenditure review topics proposed for the first year of the next three-year planning horizon, 2002-04, and noted the topics proposed for 2003 and 2004. In April 2003 the central steering committee asked Departments and offices to update their expenditure review plans, again in consultation with the Department of Finance. The committee emphasised the Government’s selection criteria and advised that Departments-offices should select a small number of programmes or areas involving major policy issues or significant levels of expenditure. On foot of this process, revised expenditure review plans were drawn up by Departments and offices. Details of expenditure reviews undertaken by my Department are set out in the appendix.
In addition to reviews under the public expenditure review process, operations and programmes administered by my Department are subject to a range of evaluation mechanisms. The inspection and internal audit unit of the Department conducts regular reviews of services and programmes within the Department with a view to assessing their effectiveness and value for money. In addition, the evaluation and audit unit of Development Co-operation Ireland conducts a schedule of evaluations designed to determine the efficiency of programmes, identify areas for improvement and enable lessons to be learned. Most such evaluations are undertaken by external consultants in co-operation with staff of the unit. Ireland also participates in joint donor evaluation of programmes — often under the umbrella of the OECD's development assistance committee — and has access to a wide range of reviews and evaluations undertaken by other bilateral and multilateral donors.
Appendix:
Reviews completed
·Management of embassy properties abroad
·EU programme on peace and reconciliation
·Irish Aid to Ethiopia
·Reaching out to communities: Area Based Programmes 1994-2000
·Review of In-country Micro-projects Scheme*
·Inhambane Area-based Programme, Mozambique*
Reviews in progress
·Expenditure on cultural relations
·Support to education sector in Zambia and Uganda 2000 to 2003
·Public Expenditure Review of Support to Afghanistan 2000 to 2003
·EU Accession Countries — Training Programme
*These reviews relating to the development co-operation programme are published on the Development Co-operation Ireland website, www.dci.gov.ie. Future reviews, including those in progress, will also be published by the Department.
