Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 January 2026
341. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether his Department is monitoring the auto-enrolment scheme as a major public expenditure programme; and whether it is subject to the Public Spending Code, including periodic value-for-money reviews. [5402/26]
View answerManaging the delivery of public services within budgetary allocations is the responsibility of each Minister and their Department, who are required to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to facilitate financial control within budgetary targets.
My Department maintains ongoing oversight of public expenditure, including major Government programmes, through established monthly, quarterly and annual monitoring systems. Expenditure developments are published in the Fiscal Monitor and assessed through the Stability Programme Update, the Summer Economic Statement and the Mid-Year Expenditure Report.
These monitoring arrangements apply across all areas of Government spending and therefore include expenditure associated with the implementation of the auto-enrolment retirement savings system. My Department will continue to engage with the Department of Social Protection on the programme as it expands.
My Department develops robust guidance, codes of practice and circulars underpinned by legislation and informed by best practice in the pursuit of value for money. Examples of such guidance include the Infrastructure Guidelines (which have replaced the capital appraisal guidelines of the Public Spending Code), Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, Arrangements for Oversight of Digital and ICT-related Initiatives in the Civil and Public Service, and the Procurement Guidelines. All Government Departments and Public bodies and all bodies in receipt of public funding must comply with the relevant requirements of these frameworks.
