Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 November 2025
372. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if a review was undertaken by his Department into the 2017 to 2022 and the 2023 spending review cycles; if so, if he will publish this review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62770/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraA report was published in October 2020 titled “Rationale Operation and Issues – Irish Spending Review Process 2017-2019”. It can be accessed at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/irish-government-economic-and-evaluation-service-igees/igees-publication/rationale-operation-and-issues-irish-spending-review-process-2017-2019/.
The report was undertaken by Professor John O’Hagan of Trinity College Dublin. It provided the Spending Review Steering Group with an external view of how the Spending Review process was operating and set out a number of recommendations. The terms of reference for this review included examining the clarity of the Spending Review’s aims and objectives, the effectiveness of governance structures, communication with stakeholders, and the quality and integration of outputs into policy and budgetary processes.
The series of recommendations set out in the report informed several reforms implemented for the 2020–2022 cycle, including expanded governance structures, increased departmental authorship of papers, and improved transparency measures. Adjustments made following the review of the 2017–2019 cycle were also embedded into the 2023 Spending Review process.
A broad range of policy analysis is undertaken and published by Government Departments each year. These can take the form of Staff Papers, Focused Policy Assessments, Spending Reviews, and analytical notes among others. My department regularly analyses expenditure trends and policies. Alongside this, individual Departments have responsibility for evaluating the efficiency and impact of their own programmes and policies, to ensure the optimal use of public resources. Since 2017 over 188 papers have been published, covering a wide range of policy areas, and these are available on the department’s website.
In addition, my department continually seeks to ensure evidence and analysis is at the centre of policy making including through the budgetary process. This is communicated through our range of publications including the annual Expenditure Report, the recently published Medium Term Expenditure Framework, the Public Service Performance Report, as well our expenditure and policy evaluation papers across a range of topics.
