From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
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The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, today (27 April 2018) published the Public Service Performance Report 2017 .
This report, now in its second year, aims to strengthen focus on what is being delivered with public funds. Following on from the recommendations of the OECD in its ‘Review of Budget Oversight by Parliament: Ireland’ (November 2015), a key objective of the report is to equip Oireachtas committees with timely outturn information to enable them to engage in a performance dialogue with line ministers.
Performance targets are published in the R The Revised Estimates Volumes for the Public Service (REV) each year.
However, the timing of the publication of the REV means that outturn information for the current year is not yet available and only performance targets can be published.
This report, providing timely quantitative performance data, aims to enhance the focus on performance and delivery by presenting relevant performance indicators in a dedicated and focused document.
On publication Minister Donohoe said:
"This is a very clear report which demonstrates the key outputs that have been delivered in 2017 across the diverse range of public service bodies.
"It will assist timely, meaningful and constructive dialogue on expenditure outputs between government and the Oireachtas and should ensure that there is enhanced focus on the impact of public expenditure on the lives of citizens."
Please find an infographic of the report findings here.
The Performance Report provides timely information on what was delivered with public funds the previous year. This creates an opportunity for meaningful dialogue between ministers and the relevant sectoral committees on government performance.
More information than ever before is now available in relation to how public resources are allocated and utilised. A number of key milestone events facilitate the publication of detailed information during the year:
The Summer Economic Statement outlines the overall economic and budgetary strategy for government, and establishes the parameters for the upcoming Budget.
The National Economic Dialogue facilitates a robust exchange of views from various stakeholders with the aim of highlighting economic and social priorities for the Budget.
The Mid-Year Expenditure Report fulfils the requirement identified by the OECD for adequate 'no policy change' pre-budget information to inform budget scrutiny;
Allocations for the coming year are subsequently published in the Expenditure Report on Budget Day with three-year multi-annual ceilings.
The Revised Estimates Volume, published in December, details the specifics of the coming year’s allocations and also provides the public and Oireachtas committees with convenient ‘at-a-glance’ information on what services are being provided.