My Department’s mission is to drive the delivery of better public services, living standards and infrastructure for the people of Ireland. The Department's overall priorities are set out in its Statement of Strategy 2025-2028. The strategy outlines how my Department will achieve its goals in the context of the Programme for Government and overarching policy frameworks. I would highlight a number of key initiatives in the context of this Question.
From an expenditure policy perspective, my Department is playing a central role in shaping Ireland’s fiscal and budgetary landscape through the publication of the Summer Economic Statement, the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and the successful delivery of Budget 2026. Budget 2026, in particular, placed a renewed emphasis on ensuring value for money. A focus on reform was central in my Ministerial bilateral engagements as part of the Estimates process and in settling allocations. Chapter 3 of the Expenditure Report sets out a series of reform proposals to be implemented by Departments in 2026. Further detail, outlining reforms sector-by-sector, is presented in Part II of the Expenditure Report.
The forthcoming Revised Estimates Volume (REV), in addition to providing detailed spending data, will outline performance budgeting information linked to expenditure. This describes how public resources will be utilised to provide public services and the impact of public policies on peoples’ lives. This data is essential to understanding how Departments can improve programmes to make them more efficient and cost effective. It also supports with work of the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) to provide evidence and insights that can shape the efficiency and effective delivery of public services. I have also instituted a review of Public Financial Procedures, which will enhance accountability and value for money across all areas of Government.
Regarding infrastructure, my Department has strengthened its mandate by establishing a dedicated Division and Taskforce. We have published a revised National Development Plan, allocating €275.4 billion in capital investment to 2035; published a Report on Stakeholder Engagement and Emerging Themes on Infrastructure, highlighting the most impactful barriers to infrastructure delivery; and published the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, designed to address the key barriers to infrastructure development and drive the efficient delivery of infrastructure across Ireland. The evidence presented in the Report shows that the costs of inaction are significant and implementation of these reforms, as planned, has the potential to save the State many millions of euros via, for example, reduced project delivery timelines.
My Department is leading on the implementation of the Better Public Services Transformation Strategy. This programme is focused on providing inclusive, high quality and integrated service provision that meets the needs and improves the lives of the people of Ireland. As part of the overall strategy, my Department has recently published a new Digital Public Services Plan 2030. The plan sets a pathway to deliver two key targets: (i) 100% of key public services available online; and (ii) 90% of key public services consumed online. The plan will result in the digitalisation of 189 applicable key public services across 17 Life Events (e.g. Birth of a Child, Becoming Employed/Unemployed). Digital services have the potential to transform delivery, generate efficiencies and reduce the cost of administration.
The Government Data Centre is a digital infrastructure initiative under the Public Service ICT Strategy to provide required critical state infrastructure. The Data Centre will deliver high-quality energy efficient Data Centre facilities for Public Service Bodies. It will be more efficient than existing public service server rooms and data centre facilities, and will address operational, financial and strategic risks for the State.
Another key element of the Better Public Service 2030 transformation strategy is the vision for a public sector workforce of the future that is skilled, motivated and reflective of the people we serve. This strategy provides a framework for all public bodies to identify and implement workforce and organisations priorities and reforms that will enable the Public Service to develop and nurture the skills necessary to implement the transformation agenda and broader government priorities.
My Department is also in the process of developing a first ever National Public Procurement Strategy to build upon the national public procurement policy framework (2019). The strategy focuses on value for money, sustainability, innovation, supporting Ireland’s enterprise base, procurement as an investment lever and expenditure management tool, and simplification. In relation to efficiencies associated central procurement activity specifically, in 2024, €1.9 billion flowed through all OGP central solutions with an estimated €65m to €70m in cost avoidance and savings.
Finally, regarding shared services, the National Shared Services Office (NSSO) is delivering efficiencies and enhancements across services via major technological reforms such as Peoplesoft upgrade, centralising pensions and overpayments teams to streamline processing and implementing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for 47 processes, handling 4.1 million transactions in 2025.
