merrion street

Today (04-Jul-2013) in Dublin Minister of State Brian Hayes spoke on the subject of External Service Delivery for the Public Service. This event, hosted by Eolas Magazine, was attended by Public and Private sector senior managers from North and South of the Border.

"At 16% Ireland is below the OECD average of government expenditure on outsourcing. We are well behind leaders in the field such as the UK and the Netherlands at 25% and 37% respectively. Having to meet unprecedented levels of demand for public services with less resources means we are effectively running to stand still. We are obliged to seek out better and more cost-effective means to continue to meet public demand."

Today's seminar examined several aspects key to moving closer to European and International best-practice. This included improving collaboration across organisations, the role of the private sector in delivering public services, mitigating the associated risks of external delivery, and developing public sector expertise. Minister Hayes noted,

"We are advancing, the headwinds are favourable. The Reform and Delivery Office in the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform is pushing hard for progress across the Public Service. We can no longer take for granted the assumption that public servants must be the sole providers of public services. Social, economic and particularly technological advancements have opened up new avenues."

Consistent with Public Service Reform Plan commitments the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform is developing a 'Preliminary Business Case toolkit' and today released an External Delivery Handbook. These are designed to support an increased focus on identifying and evaluating a range of non-core processes and services that could be provided more cost-effectively by new models. Leadership is provided by a cadre of senior managers specially recruited for their expertise in the fields of procurement, commercial delivery, shared services and ICT.

"We are equipping Public Service managers with the tools and expertise required to deliver on our Programme for Government commitments. I am encouraged by their understanding of the need for change and their appetite to bring about essential reforms. Experience in other jurisdictions has shown that by opening this door you are also opening the door to innovation through access to a wider set of skills, knowledge and technologies."

Building on the reform commitment that all new services must first be assessed for external delivery the area of debt management is currently under evaluation. Subsequent announcements are forthcoming. In addition to this the Health, Justice and Local Government sectors have recently submitted detailed benefits-driven external delivery service plans for consideration by Government.