Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 September 2017
117. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent reform remains a feature of his Department's policy with particular reference to ensuring good value for the taxpayer and quality service for the consumer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40732/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraPublic Service Reform continues to be a key feature of my Department's policy. Considerable progress has been made since the first Public Service Reform Plan was published in 2011. We are now moving from a stage of reform to one of development and continuous improvement which will cover the period to 2020. My Department is currently developing a new Public Service Development and Innovation Framework, Our Public Service 2020. This will set out a series of actions to be delivered out to 2020 which will both build on the achievements of the last six years and respond to new challenges.
Our Public Service 2020 will have a particular emphasis on quality service for the customer. We aim to place the customer's needs at the core of every decision from policy formulation to service design through to the service delivery. The framework will focus on increasing access, enabling better delivery and engagement with our customers using new tools such as increased digitisation, increasing accessibility of services and better data-sharing.
The approach of the framework will be underpinned by the principles of evidence, flexibility, inclusion, outcomes focus and evaluation and review. These will ensure a continued focus on quality service for the customer and on value for money. There will be a strengthened effort to move from an emphasis on outputs and processes to focus on outcomes and impact. Regular evaluation and review with indicators measuring whether the aims of the plan are on target will ensure we measure progress.
Ensuring value for the taxpayer is an important element of public expenditure management. In July this year I published the output of the spending review. The papers prepared for the Spending Review cover a wide range of policy areas and account for a significant proportion of current expenditure. In total, 17 papers were produced by officials in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and other Departments. In addition, an analysis of expenditure trends in key sectors was also published. This was the first in a planned series of 'rolling' selective reviews that will take place each year to 2019. The aim of the Spending Review process was to examine existing spending by reference to the principles of efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and impact. This approach allows for systematic examination of existing spending programmes to assess their effectiveness in meeting policy objectives and also to identify scope for reallocating funding to meet expenditure priorities. In this way, we can ensure that value for money is achieved for every euro of public funding spent.
As the Deputy may already be aware, in July my colleague Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan launched the following four public service reform initiatives:
1. The final progress report on the implementation of the 2014-16 Public Service Reform Plan which reflects on reforms implemented during that period, highlighting a wide range of improved services for the public and savings across a range of projects. The report showed that almost 90% of the 227 actions in the plan were on target or completed.
2. The OECD Assessment of the 2014-16 Public Service Reform Plan which was undertaken with a view to informing future public service reform efforts. The OECD Assessment acknowledges the achievements made and identifies the key areas where public service reform needs to focus on going forward.
3. The first ever public consultation on public service reform which was carried out in preparation for the third phase of the Plan. Our Public Service 2020 – Development and Innovation Framework. The framework aims to deliver better outcomes for the public and to build more responsive and agile public service organisations. It identifies a series of actions grouped under the following three pillars:
1. Delivering for our Public
2. Innovating for our Future
3. Developing our People and Organisations
Two case-studies on recent major reform projects; the creation of the Office of Government Procurement and the establishment of the INTREO one-stop-shop service for job-seekers. These address a gap in access to public service case studies to date, and are educational resources for free use in third-level and public policy environments.
The four initiatives reflect well on the progress on reform to date, across the public service and show how we are using past experience to inform the next phase of reform, which is due to be launched before the end of the year. All documents are available on www.reformplan.per.gov.ie.
