merrion street

On welcoming the decision by the Government today to set up an Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, T.D. stated “A key element of Ireland’s economic recovery and future development is the quality of future policy development. The purpose of the new Service is to support better policy-making across the system, through enhanced economic and policy analysis expertise. The work of the Unit will support Departments in evaluating policy and expenditure options; value for money exercises; cost benefit and regulatory impact analyses; and regulatory and competition issues.”

Various reports have identified the need for Departments to bolster their specialist skills in areas such as ICT, Human Resources, project management, accountancy and economics. This initiative will help to address the gaps in economic expertise and policy analysis capability across the civil service. A macroeconomic stream will be established to address the needs of the Department of Finance and other Departments for macroeconomic expertise.