Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform who is assisted by three Ministers of State.
The department was established in July 2011. The department took over the functions of Public Expenditure from the Department of Finance. The department of Public Expenditure and Reform is responsible for overseeing the reform of the Public Sector. The Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2012–14 set a spending ceiling for the department of €837 million for the year 2013, and €826 million for the year 2014.
Departmental team
The headquarters and ministerial offices of the department are in Government Buildings, Merrion Street, Dublin 2. The departmental team consists of the following:- Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform: Michael McGrath, TD
- *Minister of State for Office of Public Works: Patrick O'Donovan
- *Minister of State for Public Procurement and eGovernment: Ossian Smyth
- Secretary General of the Department: Robert Watt
Overview
- Public Expenditure Division – to establish and review short-term and medium-term current and capital public expenditure targets
- Organisation, Management and Training Division – has overall responsibility for the management and development of the civil service
- Expenditure Policy Evaluation and Management
- Expenditure Policy and State Assets
- Expenditure Policy Lottery/EU/Internal Audit
- Remuneration and Industrial Relations
- Government Reform and Civil Service HR
- CMOD and eGovernment
- Public Service Reform and Delivery
- Procurement
- Human Resources
History
| Statute | Effect |
| Establishment of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Transfer of Public expenditure and the public service from the Department of Finance | |
| Transfer of various functions from the Department of Finance | |
| Transfer of further functions from the Department of Finance | |
| Transfer of money laundering and terrorism from the Department of Finance | |
| Further functions granted to the Minister |
Government reform legislation
Since its establishment the Department has introduced a number of government reform measures, as follows:- Ombudsman Act 2012 which brought approximately 200 additional public bodies under the scrutiny of the Ombudsman.
- Houses of the Oireachtas Act 2013, to provide for Oireachtas inquiries.
- Protected Disclosures Act 2014, protecting whistleblowers.
- Freedom of Information Act 2014, expanding the remit of FOI
- Registration of Lobbyists Act 2015 providing for a new registration system and
- Public Sector Standards Bill 2015 to update legislation on ethics in government.