Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 March 2018
27. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has quantified the extent to which reforms throughout the public sector are likely to yield improved economic performance in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11266/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraOur Public Service 2020 is the new framework for reform and innovation in the public service which was launched in December 2017. This new phase of public service reform focuses on supporting sustainable, continuous progress across the public service. It aims to build a stronger public service and to deliver better quality services to the Irish public.
Our Public Service 2020 contains an added focus on evaluation and on the importance of building a reform evaluation culture. The newly established Reform Evaluation Unit will work closely with units within my Department focused on performance budgeting and spending reviews to strengthen the links between expenditure and reform.
Implementation of the framework has begun. There are 18 actions which include new initiatives and actions focused on building on reforms already in place.
As Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform I must ensure that our fiscal and public expenditure policy is prudent and sustainable. There are a number of budgetary reforms introduced in recent years to guide my decisions on overall fiscal policy in this regard, including fiscal rules, expenditure ceilings and spending reviews. The actions in Our Public Service 2020 will ensure that the focus of the public service is very much on delivery of quality public services, while operating within these prudent limits.
The Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) which was set up in 2012, leads a programme of evaluation of public service delivery across the public service which allows decision-makers to look at trends, outputs, impact and sustainability of public spending.
Public service reform is continuing to deliver savings and value for money across a range of specific areas such as shared services, procurement reform and property management. While these savings free up expenditure, we need to learn the lessons of the past and spend in a smart and efficient manner. A review of day-to-day Government spending took place before Budget 2018. The 2017 Spending Review was the first in a series of rolling, selective reviews, which will cover the totality of Government spending over a three-year period to 2019. The results of the first year of this new approach are published with the Mid-Year Expenditure Report 2017. Moderate, sustainable, expenditure growth is now planned over the medium-term. However, increasing and competing public service demands will mean managing expenditure, and this is likely to prove challenging. The 2018 Spending Reviews are now underway.
