Bodies under the aegis of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery, and Reform

There are 13 bodies under the aegis of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, 6 of whom are Civil Service Offices and Offices (Scheduled Bodies as defined by the Public Service Management Act 1997):

The Office of Public Works (OPW) carries out portfolio management and heritage services for property belonging to the Irish State, and flood risk management.

The State Laboratory is a Scheduled Body which provides a comprehensive analytical and advisory service to government departments and offices, thereby enabling them to implement and formulate the technical aspects of national and EU legislation.

The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is a Scheduled Body, and is the centralised provider of recruitment, assessment and selection services for the Civil Service. PAS also provide recruitment services for the most senior roles in Local Authorities, leadership positions and Hospital Consultant roles for the HSE, trainees for An Garda Síochána, and a range of Head of Office and specialist professional and technical roles throughout the Civil and Public Service.

PAS also support the appointments, by Minsters, to State Boards through their website at Stateboards.ie.

The Office of the Ombudsman is an independent Scheduled Body which examines complaints from people who feel they have been unfairly treated by a public service provider. The Office of the Ombudsman can examine complaints against most organisations that deliver public services. These include government departments, local authorities, the HSE, nursing homes and publicly funded third level education bodies.

As part of their overall corporate structure, the Office of the Ombudsman also supports the following Bodies:

• The Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA), which is a Scheduled Body who work to ensure that appointments to positions in the public service are fair and transparent. They aim to support the effective delivery of public services by continuously promoting best practice in recruitment and selection.
• The Office of the Information Commissioner, which was established by the Freedom of Information Act 1997. The Information Commissioner's Office carries out independent reviews of decisions taken by public bodies on Freedom of Information requests.
• The Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information, which was established by the Access to Information on the Environmental Regulations 2007. The role of the Commissioner for Environmental Information is to decide on appeals by members of the public who are not satisfied with the outcome of their requests to public authorities for environmental information.
• The Standards in Public Office Commission, which is an independent body established under the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. It has six members and is chaired by a former Judge of the High Court. It has supervisory roles under four separate pieces of legislation. Its functions include supervising the disclosure of interests and compliance with tax clearance requirements, the disclosure of donations and election expenditure, the expenditure of state funding received by political parties and the registration of lobbying.

The National Shared Services Office (NSSO) is a Scheduled Body which is a Shared Services provider for HR, pensions and payroll administration for government departments and bodies.

The Regulator of the National Lottery is an independent regulatory office established by statute under the National Lottery Act 2013. The Regulator procures and regulates the holding of the Irish National Lottery in its role and functions.*

***** Please note that this department has no role in the allocation of National Lottery Funds for Good Causes, applications for which should be made to the relevant government department. Please see the website of the Regulator which provides some helpful information to assist individuals or organisations in determining where they should direct their enquiry, should they want to secure National Lottery funding.

****** Please also note that the department has no role in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards. Please see the National Lottery website for further information.

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), is an independent not-for-profit economic and social research institute which receives grant funding from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. The ESRI produces research that contributes to understanding economic and social change, and that informs public policy making and civil society in Ireland.

The Institute for Public Administration (IPA) is a body which receives grant funding from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, and is dedicated towards public sector development, and delivers services through education, training, research and publishing.

The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) is a product of the British-Irish Agreement and is jointly overseen by the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland and this department.