Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 January 2014
79. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the total amount of outsourcing that has been achieved in his Department since the letter sent by Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in March 2012; the names of the outsourcing companies that have been involved; the total savings achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3299/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe work of my Department and of the wider Education and Training sector already includes the use of a diverse range of outsourcing arrangements relating to such areas as the school building programme, education and training courses at various levels, services provided for teachers and special needs assistants and a range of corporate functions for education providers such as ICT support, payroll, HR, waste management, cleaning and security. For instance, in 2012, the Momentum initiative was announced following a two-stage application process for providers, where value for money as well as quality formed part of the evaluation process. This initiative is providing 6,500 training places which are offered by both public and private providers. In June 2013, following a competitive process a new round of Springboard was announced which includes 6,000 places on 200 courses in 38 Institutes of Technology, Universities and privately-run higher education colleges.
Arising from a Government Decision in July 2012, Departments are required, when evaluating any proposed new service, to include an appraisal of the costs and benefits of delivering the service using external providers. While, to date, no proposal for a new Department service has been considered under this provision, my Department is addressing the issue of external service delivery in the context of other initiatives underway across the Education sector, such as the use of aggregated procurement and the assessment of potential shared services projects. The Department has also identified a number of functions for further consideration as to their suitability for external service delivery and these will be assessed in the coming months.
