Cathaoirleach,
The primary purpose of this Bill is to provide the legislative basis which will allow for the formal establishment of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and for the transfer of certain functions from the Minister for Finance to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The establishment of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will place the two important issues of Expenditure Management and Public Service Reform at the centre of government. It is highly significant that this is the first time that a Cabinet level Minister has been given responsibility for driving the reform agenda.
Public Service Reform Agenda
Turning first to the Reform Agenda, we all know that delivering a programme of reform in the coming years will not be easy. This Bill represents the beginning of a challenging journey to achieve the vision for the Public Service we have set ourselves – a high performing, value-for-money and accountable Public Service, which is what our citizens deserve. The Bill places Public Service reform functions on a statutory basis for the first time.
The Croke Park Agreement
As a Government we realise that the reform agenda cannot simply be imposed on a system of over 300,000 people without their agreement, active engagement and co-operation; and without proactive and ambitious leadership at every level in public service bodies.
I have recently welcomed the conclusions of the Implementation Body on the Croke Park Agreement which indicated that that there has been solid and measurable progress to date. Notwithstanding this progress, however, it is clear that a lot more needs to be done. We need to see an accelerated delivery of the full range of reform and efficiencies envisaged under the Agreement. I look forward to active engagement from both public service management and unions in this task over the coming months.
Comprehensive Spending Review
In tandem with the extensive public service modernisation reforms being pursued, the Government has an ambitious agenda for budgetary consolidation over the coming years to put our public finances back onto a sound footing. This will involve further, major savings and efficiencies in the expenditure area, coming on top of the expenditure consolidations of the past two or three years. There is an acceptance that as a country we cannot afford to spend the same amount on our services. Maintaining key services requires both reprioritisation and smarter and more effective ways of delivering those services.
Economic Context
Cathaoirleach, we find ourselves today facing unprecedented economic challenges. The recent flow of economic data does provide some grounds for cautious optimism. The Public Service must play its part in any recovery. We have to be ambitious and ensure that the reform initiatives we are undertaking, informed by the outcome of the Comprehensive Expenditure Review and delivered within the Croke Park agreement deliver a slimmer, more streamlined, efficient and effective public service. This is essential if we are to bring permanent sustainability to Government finances and to ensure the Public Service can make a positive contribution to economic growth. I would like to take the opportunity in this House to say that the introduction of pay ceilings for higher posts across the public service last week was intended to send a clear signal that reform must come from the top.
Outline of Bill in Detail
I would now like to turn to the Bill before us to day. This Bill marks, as I have already indicated the final part of the first of many steps to achieving the vision we have set out of the Irish Public Service and will in its own way make a positive contribution to restoring economic growth and sustainability to Government finances.
I will now briefly go through the sections of the Bill and give a brief outline of their content and purpose.
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL
Part 1 deals with preliminary and general matters, specifically
Section 1Section 2Section 3Section 4
PART 2 - Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
Part 2 deals with the new Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. It transfers many of the general statutory functions of the Minister for Finance in relation to the public service to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and it puts specific public service reform and modernisation functions on a statutory basis .Section 5Section 6Section 7Section 8Section 9Section 10Section 11Section 12Section 13Section 14Section 15
PART 3 PERFORMANCE OF CERTAIN FUNCTIONS
Part 3 deals with the performance of certain other functions including those relating to the Estimates.Section 16Section 17Section 18Section 19Section 20
Some functions are transferred collectively under Section 8. These relate to the broad public service functions of the Minister relating to superannuation, remuneration, etc., and also to the functions of bodies under the aegis of the Minister. Sections 21 and 22 are intended to provide for a potential scenario where one Minister may inadvertently perform a function of the other believing it to be a relevant function of that Minister. Therefore, a function of the Minister for Finance performed by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform shall be valid if at the time the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform believed that the function vested in him under section and vice versa. This does not include those functions for which the specific statutory provisions are explicitly transferred under this Bill. It refers only to functions transferred by way of a general description.Section 23
PART 4 AMENDMENT OF CERTAIN ENACTMENTS
Part 4 provides for the necessary amendments to miscellaneous pieces of legislation, to take account of the establishment of the new Department. Sections 24 to 98
PART 5 MiscellaneousSection 99Section 100SchedulesSchedule 1Schedule 2 Part 1Schedule 2 Part 2Schedule 3
In addition, to the provisions in the Bill, I want to advise the House, that I will also be introducing a small number of technical amendments at Committee Stage.
Conclusion
To conclude, I am asking the House to support and approve this Bill and in doing so to provide a sound legislative basis to underpin the formal establishment of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the transfer of certain functions from the Minister for Finance to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. This Bill is an important step on our reform journey and I commend it to the House.