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Expenditure Reviews

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 July 2018

Tuesday, 3 July 2018

Ceisteanna (37)

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

37. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on the 2018 spending review and the role and work of the IGEES in the 2019 budgetary process. [28989/18]

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Freagraí scríofa

As the Deputy will be aware, the Spending Review 2017-2019 was announced as part of my Budget day speech in 2016. This review differs from previous Comprehensive Reviews of Expenditure, with the introduction of a rolling system of selective reviews that will seek to examine the significant portion of current expenditure over the three year period from 2017 to 2019.

This redesigned process looks to shift the emphasis away from the incremental nature of the annual Estimates process, with a focus instead on assessing the effectiveness of the totality of existing programmes. The rolling three-year nature of the current spending review will allow for the build-up of expertise and awareness of the process, allow analysts to revisit key topics if issues are emerging, and further embed an ongoing evaluation culture across the Public Service.

Last year’s Spending Review culminated in the publication of over 20 analytical papers, most published alongside the Mid-Year Expenditure Report in July, with the remainder published following the publication of Budget 2018 in October last year. Work on this year's Spending Review is still ongoing. It is planned that the Spending Review and associated papers will be published with the Mid-Year Expenditure Report in mid-July. In line with last year a small number of papers may also be published at Budget time in October.  With publication of the Spending Review papers in July, this allows the Spending Review analysis to inform the budgetary discussions that take place as part of the Estimates process.

The Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) is core to delivering the work on the Spending Review. IGEES is an integrated, cross-Government service that aims to support better policy formulation and implementation in the civil service through economic analysis and evaluation.  

IGEES is not a standalone service. IGEES staff are part of each Department. By operating as a cross Government service, IGEES supports and builds economic and evaluation capacity and consistency across the civil service. IGEES staff in Departments prepare analysis as part of the Spending Review and to inform the annual budgetary process as directed by their Departmental business plans.

IGEES hosts a Spending Review Conference to provide an opportunity for all Departments to come together to discuss the analysis being conducted to inform the Spending Review. This supports a wider capacity building in analysis and evidence in the Civil Service. It provides a forum for analysts to talk about the challenges in conducting analysis, potential solutions, and how analysis can inform policy choices.

The IGEES Work Programme for 2018 can be found on the IGEES website at https://igees.gov.ie/publications/igees-corporate-programme/. It sets out the work being conducted within each Department in 2018 and highlights cross Departmental collaboration on analysis to inform policy.

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