2026-07-07

12. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the actions that have been taken to implement cost control in Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51538/26]

It may not be the most interesting subject, but it is probably the most important subject in the Minister’s brief, and that is the issue of cost control. What actions are being taken to implement cost control in Departments?

In December 2025, the Government published the medium-term fiscal and structural plan, which set out fixed expenditure ceilings for the period 2026 to 2030. This provides for significant uplifts in expenditure over the coming years, with gross voted spending to reach €147.3 billion in 2030. My Department has responsibility for developing expenditure policy in line with agreed Government objectives, including adhering to the expenditure ceilings set out in the plan. My Department establishes the governance frameworks, or rules, setting out the principles of how money should be spent to support sustainable increases in public expenditure. These include the public financial procedures and infrastructure and procurement guidelines. These frameworks have been developed to promote the efficient, effective and sustainable application of resources. In May, I published Circular 21/2026 relating to expenditure control and the escalation process. Issued to all Departments, it provides a clear framework for managing expenditure and sets out phases for escalation if spending overruns emerge. This escalation process is designed to be transparent and clear, setting out the different phases that can be taken to address overruns. It defines roles and responsibilities across Departments, ensuring strong accountability for expenditure management. Importantly, it is responsive to emerging spending pressures and enables timely and proportionate corrective actions where required. Where expenditure pressures persist, the circular sets out a framework for when and how my Department will engage with others. These steps are focused around strengthening governance, reprioritising expenditure within Department allocations and ensuring that overruns are addressed in a timely manner. The circular also reiterates that responsibility for managing expenditure rests with each Department’s Accounting Officer. As published, it refers to nine phases of expenditure controls. These could involve an expenditure oversight group all the way to examining non-pay pressures to pay pressures, if they emerge in a Department. It is about aligning budgetary allocations with priorities and ensuring that we get better delivery of budgets across Departments.

I thank the Minister for his response. We have interacted quite a bit at committee level on the same topic and will continue to do so. The starting point is a detailed, accurate and complete budget. This must be prepared on a zero-waste budgeting model where all costs must be justified and it is not just assumed that last year's budget funding is a given. This, then, must be closely monitored on a month-by-month basis so that cost overruns are discovered early and action is taken. How do we incentivise managers to save money? Today, I met a constituent in my clinic who told me of two school buses going from one town to a special class in another town, both of which were less than half full. What is the motivation to stop this waste of money? School transport costs rose by 34%, or €162 million, this year, from €478 million last year to €641 million this year.

That is why we should have reforms in the Department of Education and Youth around how that operates more efficiently. It is the role of the Minister and Accounting Officer in that Department, to use that example in terms of efficiency in respect of school transport, to ensure that we do not have duplication or two half-empty buses when there could be one. That is something that should be examined by the Department of Education and Youth to drive value for money. We have been clear in the value for money obligations we have set out, as published in Circular 18/2025 around value for money obligations for all civil and public servants, and that is essential. We have moved away from the system of existing level of service, ELS, plus additionality, which we discussed with the Deputy at the budgetary oversight committee, to ensure that we examine the total base of spend through the Estimates process, something we did last year and will do again with a greater focus for budget 2027. The expenditure levy will drive greater efficiencies and reforms and incentivise those in the context of a moderating increase in current expenditure.

I will list some specific items, but the list is not exhaustive. Regarding funding given to quangos, can we review whether there is overlap between these organisations and if the Government is funding them to do the same things? Can we use the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, to do more work on bid rigging prevention? Do all Departments publish reports on overtime, the cost of agency staff and consultancy costs? This should be the norm. Is there a cost control champion in each Department? Can we expand digital services to reduce processing times, paperwork and costs, increase the use of electronic records and reduce unnecessary printing and brochure costs? We should use data and KPIs to monitor the cost and outcomes of services, encourage the use of shared buildings and dispose of underused properties to reduce overheads and waste. Finally, there are any number of things that can be done and I am sure some are already being done, but we must strive to continuously improve and motivate the wonderful people who work in our public service to reduce spending that is growing too quickly.

We want to digitalise our public services, drive efficiencies and advance reforms, and that is a necessity. In everything we are doing in the escalation framework and implementing cost controls in respect of Departments, it is all about efficiency, how we improve productivity, digitalise more and, ultimately, build better public services for people who want to see them improve. People want to see the endpoint of the increased expenditure the Deputy referenced to ensure that the outputs improve and the impacts are better. We are focused on how we improve delivery. That is our wider focus and why we have moved away from the model used in previous years to one that better serves a focus on efficiency and reform. That will be a key part of the Estimates process.