merrion street

Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Public Service Reform, Mr. Brian Hayes, T.D., will visit the Northern Ireland Enterprise Shared Services tomorrow (17 April 2012) and meet with Minister Sammy Wilson and his officials to discuss the shared service agenda and see what lessons can be learned from Northern Ireland's approach. Commenting on the visit Minister Hayes noted "This Government is committed to a wide ranging reform agenda but there is a need for to accelerate our plans across the public service. Shared Services represents a crucial reform enabler for the Public Service and one that can and has worked elsewhere. I look forward to engaging with my Northern Ireland counter parts and hearing about and learning from their experiences.

A business case for rolling out a HR shared service will be presented to Cabinet shortly. Once this process is completed a similar approach will be taken in the payroll area. A key to any shared service reform is that it is driven at local level; sectoral Leaders have been appointed and the National Shared Services Office, established in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, is working closely with the Sectors to guide and support them with the development of their sectoral plans. There are clear benefits from introducing shared services in non core areas such as HR, payroll, ICT and Finance and we must use the flexibilities under Croke Park to ensure reform is driven and that we deliver public services in a more efficient, cost effective way."