Minister McGrath welcomes the publication of the Annual Report 2021 of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath, T.D., has welcomed the publication of the Annual Report 2021 of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

As set out in its Statement of Strategy 2021 - 2023, the Department’s mission is to serve the public interest through sound governance of public expenditure and by leading and enabling reform across the Civil and Public Service. In this context, the Minister highlighted that the Department has a broad and important remit, with the report detailing “significant achievements during 2021 in terms of the management of public expenditure and the reform of the Civil and Public Service, while addressing the challenges posed by the pandemic.”

The Minister drew attention to some key programmes of work including:

• managing the ongoing impact on the public finances of measures introduced to support our people and businesses during the pandemic;
• advancing work on a range of EU policy areas, including Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the Brexit Adjustment Reserve;
• driving the digital transformation agenda across the Public Service, including though the gov.ie portal;
• leading Civil Service Renewal and wider Public Service Reform, including the launch of Civil Service Renewal 2030; and
• delivering the Public Procurement Reform Programme.

The Minister thanked the staff of the Department for their work throughout 2021 and since, and added:

Minister of State Smyth, who has responsibility for Public Procurement and eGovernment at the Department, stated:

Notes for Editors:

The Executive Summary of the report sets out at a high level some of the main developments in 2021. Further detail is then included throughout the report.

Some key areas of work included:

Managing Public Expenditure by:

• managing the ongoing impact of the public finances of measures introduced to support people and businesses in the context of Covid-19;
• continuation of the rolling Spending Review to provide a robust evidence base to inform policy making in the short and medium years;
• overseeing gross current expenditure by Departments of just over €87.5 billion and capital expenditure of €9.9 billion;
• publishing the revised National Development Plan 2021 - 2030;
• supporting the implementation of Project Ireland 2040 ; and
• supporting financial management reform.

Continuing to prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period, including agreement at EU level on Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan and agreement and rollout of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve;

Continuing to oversee the management of the 2014-2020 EU Structural Funds Programmes, engagement in the development of the 2021-2027 EU Cohesion Policy programmes and oversight of the North South EU programmes and the Special EU Programmes Body;

Managing the public service pay and pensions bill in a sustainable way with the framework of “Building Momentum”, the new public service agreement for 2021-2022, and managing the implementation of public service pension policy;

Driving Civil Service renewal and Wider Public Service reform, including:

• the launch of Civil Service Renewal 2030, the culmination of a whole-of-government process to develop a new ten-year strategy for the Civil Service;
• guiding and monitoring implementation of the framework for development and innovation in the Public Service;
• continued leadership and direction and a public service-wide collaborative approach to manage the complex issues that have arisen for public service employers as a result of Covid-19, progressing the Civil Service Blended Working Policy Framework, as well as providing supports for staff through the Employee Assistance Service and Office of the Chief Medical Officer; and
• pursuing reforms to delivery open, accountable and ethical government;

Driving the digital transformation agenda, including through the further expansion of the Build to Share (BTS) suite of services to support initiatives like the development of the EU Digital Covid Certificate and using the Civil Service Renewal 2030 portal as a key communications channel; and taking forward the implementation of Public Service ICT Strategies; and

Delivering the Public Procurement Reform Programme, including:

• establishing 34 new national commercial arrangements, covering an estimated spend of €1.3 billion over their term; and
• supporting and promoting green procurement. OGP awarded contracts for the provision of 100% green electricity to over 1,200 primary and secondary schools across the State.

ENDS