Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 May 2013
122. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a timeline in relation to the banking and financial management shared services project being led by his Department; if he will outline the objectives and a cost benefit analysis of this shared service project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20603/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraProjects to baseline Finance Management and Banking services administered by the Civil Service commenced in November 2012 and are now nearing completion. Final baseline reports for the two projects have yet to be submitted to the Programme Board who, on the basis of the findings, will make recommendations on whether to proceed to the business case phase.
The baseline reports provide inputs into any future cost-benefit analyses of the potential efficiencies that shared services solutions might provide. A wide range of financial and non-financial information has been gathered on both financial management and banking including on costs, volumes of activities, number of full-time equivalents involved, process methods in use, range of technologies in place and other non-financial elements associated with provision of current services. The information is assessed by reference to some key comparable benchmarks to identify the opportunity for improving cost efficiencies and effectiveness of specific functions.
In the event of decisions to proceed to the next phase in respect of either or both of the financial management and banking projects, the baseline reports would constitute significant inputs to the business cases. They would involve consideration of a number of possible options and assessments of the financial and non-financial values of each of them.
