PAC to focus on accounts of Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Chairman of the Committee John McGuinness said: “The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was established in July 2011, so 2012 was its first full year of operation. There was a staff increase of 60 between 2011 and 2012 which is a significant increase in numbers given the moratorium on recruitment. The Committee will be keen to establish what these new staff members were required for, while the skill set of the Department could also be discussed. We will be keen to establish if the new Human Resources Shared Services Centre is on target for planned savings and staff reductions as well as on target to be fully operational by its target date. In relation to the Haddington Road Agreement, the Committee would like to ascertain if targeted savings were achieved in 2013. A total of €1 billion in payroll savings is due over the next three years and we will want to know how this will be achieved. Other issues we may discuss is the current status of the moratorium on recruitment and if it is now proving to be an obstacle to the smooth operation of the public service and economic recovery

In relation to Superannuation and Retired Allowances, a key issue is the number of changes made to the public sector pension scheme from 2011 onwards. The Committee will be interested in establishing how these changes translate into monetary savings. The financial liability that has accrued for public service pensions places the accrued liability for occupational pensions of public servants in the order of €116 billion at the end of 2009.  The Department had commenced a major exercise with the intention of updating this figure, which would take into account changes in public service pay and pensions in recent years and the Committee will be keen to discuss progress on this work.”

This meeting will start in Committee Room 1 at 10am on Thursday, 3rd April 2014.

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Committee of Public Accounts Membership
 
John McGuinness (Chairman)
Kieran O’Donnell (Vice Chairman)
Paul J Connaughton,
John Deasy,
Áine Collins
Gerald Nash,
Simon Harris,
Robert Dowds,
Mary Lou McDonald,
Sean Fleming,
Eoghan Murphy,
Derek Nolan,
Shane Ross.