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Phil Hogan, T.D. Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to-day (12 September, 2013) welcomed the decision of the Local Authority Shared Services Payroll & Superannuation Evaluation Committee, after a competitive bidding process, to recommend that Laois County Council provide Shared Payroll and Superannuation services on behalf of all local authorities. Subject to the completion of necessary design work, the new local authority shared service centre will begin operation from early 2014. It is anticipated that the shared service centre will operate with a maximum staff complement of 72, once fully operational, and that the shared service will deliver annual savings of €4.3m and free up almost 70 staff in the sector.

Minister Hogan said “I welcome this key milestone in the local authority shared services programme. Shared services are an important element of the Government’s public service reform agenda and can provide much needed cost savings and efficiencies while also fully standardising and improving the service. The sharing of back-office functions will in turn allow local authorities to concentrate on providing services to citizens. I wish Laois County Council every success in delivering the shared service. Local authorities have delivered very significant savings of €839m since 2008 have reduced staff numbers by almost a quarter. To-day’s announcement is a further illustration of the sector’s on-going commitment to modernisation and reform”

Speaking today the Minister of State, Brian Hayes, with special responsibility for Public Service Reform and the OPW welcomed Minister Hogan’s announcement and stressed the importance of this project in progressing the Government’s commitment to implementing workforce reforms set out in the Programme for Government. Shared services is a new collaborative service delivery model with a strong focus on customer service that changes the way we work together. Having recently opened PeoplePoint, the new Human Resources and Pensions Shared Service Centre for the Civil Service in Clonskeagh, the Minister praised the pace and progress of the local authority shared services programme team as a concrete example of what can be achieved when local authorities and Government Department’s work together, and extended the offer of support for shared services to other Sectors.