Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 June 2012
85 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if there are specific areas within the public service in respect of which greater than average reform has taken place with consequential benefit to the Exchequer; the extent if any to which such experience can be replicated throughout the sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28631/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra88 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the areas of reform throughout the public sector that have so far been deemed most likely to damage the prospects of effective delivery of service; if such impact can be ameliorated in any way; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28634/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 88 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, this Government is committed to far reaching reform of the Public Service and providing better value for money, flexibility and service delivery in the Public Service. The Government's Public Service Reform Plan, which was published last November, outlines the priority actions and timelines for reform. These reforms reflect five major commitments to change, namely:
placing customer service at the core of everything we do;
maximising new and innovative service delivery channels;
radically reducing costs to drive better value for money;
leading, organising and working in new ways; and
a strong focus on implementation and delivery.
Good progress continues to be made in the implementation of the Reform Plan across the Public Service. For example, we are expanding e-government thought the recently published eGovernment Strategy. We are rolling out the Public Service Card and increasing efficiency in public procurement. Detailed proposals in other areas such as property management and external service delivery are at an advanced stage. Progress also continues to be made in the area of shared services, which was identified as a major element of the reform programme, and I have recently announced plans for the establishment of a Human Resources Shared Service Centre (HRSSC) for the Civil Service in this regard.
As the Deputy is award a key element of the reform agenda is the reduction of the size of the Public Service, and by 2015 we expect to achieve a planned reduction of 37,500 staff, or 12%, since 2008. While the reduction in public service numbers will reduce costs significantly, it will also necessitate major reform in all sectors. In this context, the effective implementation of the redeployment arrangements under the Croke Park agreement will be crucial to the success of the reform initiative. This will allow increasingly limited staff resources to be directed to the areas of most strategic importance. At the same time, the envisaged re-engineering of structures, systems and services will mean that the Public Service will be able to continue to deliver key services with reduced numbers. Transition Teams drawn from existing Workforce Planning Groups were put in place in the Health, Education, Local Government, Justice and Defence, and Civil Service sectors to address the specific short-term challenges arising from retirements in the Public Service and to manage the process in their respective sectors. The Strategic Workforce Planning Groups in each sector will continue to ensure that sectoral employers develop plans to deal on an ongoing basis with the operational and strategic consequences arising from the outflow of staff in 2012 and future years. Guidelines for a Workforce Planning Framework for Departments and their agencies have been circulated by my Department and Workforce Plans are due to be finalised by Departments by end June.
Implementation of the Reform Plan is being overseen by the Reform and Delivery Office established within my Department. The Office is working closely with organisations across the Public Service to enable them to deliver meaningful reform at a local level, as well as leading on certain cross-cutting initiatives from the Reform Plan.
In addition, Government Departments and major offices have produced integrated reform delivery plans, which place centrally driven initiatives in the context of organisational and sectoral reforms. Progress made on these plans is also being overseen by the Reform and Delivery Office, which is also driving an increased capacity and capability for change, both centrally and across the various sectors of the Public Service, to ensure that the focus is firmly on implementation and delivery.
Questions Nos. 86 and 87 answered with Question No. 27.
Question No. 88 answered with Question No. 85.
Questions Nos. 89 to 92, inclusive, answered with Question No. 27.
