Policy positions

This section will keep you up-to-date on the key public sector issues affecting business and employers. Each document contains a brief description of the issue and its implications for business. Where appropriate, detailed policy documents, useful links to other web sites and contact information are provided.

eGovernment

21/08/2013 - Technology is not an end in itself but it can enable the public sector not just to cut costs but to adopt fundamentally different ways of doing things, including transforming public service delivery.

External service delivery

24/01/2011 - Ireland’s economic circumstance requires the Government to progress external service delivery as a key plank of the public sector reform programme. Currently, Ireland is the fourth lowest country in the OECD in terms of availing of the benefits of this approach to public service delivery.

Introduction of the national postcode system

08/10/2013 - Government has given the go ahead for the roll-out of a new national postcode system that will provide a unique seven character code to every letter-box in the State by spring 2015.

Public private partnerships (PPPs)

20/01/2012 - Government needs to be ambitious in delivering a programme of infrastructural investment and make greater use of private finance through the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Public procurement

02/11/2011 - The public service spends €9bn annually on goods and services. There is significant scope to reform the process in ways that benefit all parties and ultimately the tax-paying public, while also stimulating enterprise development.

Public service reform

21/08/2013 - Ireland should strive for a public sector that meets the needs of society and the economy in a cost-efficient way and is staffed by motivated, skilled people. The Public Service Reform plan, published on 17 November 2011, outlines a strategy that promises high service levels while at the same time reducing costs.

Shared services

11/11/2011 - Shared services are a credible strategy to achieve the Government’s objective of protecting outcomes and not budgets. It is a cornerstone of the public service reform plan and initiatives are advancing steadily with the HR and pensions shared service centre for the civil service already established.