Irish Evaluation Network

Irish Evaluation Network 24.09.04 David Doyle, Department of Finance

The overall policy context • Why an evaluation culture is important • Some relevant examples • What is the public service role? • What is the Department of Finance role?

Overall policy context • Key policy goal overall • Creating the conditions in which the economy can • generate sustainable employment • improve living standards • promote social progress

Some key issues…. • International situation in an open economy • What we pay ourselves, how we compete • The skills our labour force has • Education, Education, Education • Work life training • Enterpreneurial culture and incentives/thriving private sector • Investment in our infrastructure – getting goods to market, workers to jobs • The list goes on…………….

Things Government has to do • Private sector motivated by profit • Government taxes, to raise funds to invest in public services, pay the bills • Tax in way which does not create disincentives to work, or make profits • Tax in a way which is as progressive as possible • Government take about €40 billion

Government interventions • Investment about €5 billion • Social security system €11 billion • Our health services €10 billion • Education €6 billion • EU, Debt €4 billion • Rest €9 billion • Total €45 billion

Challenges going forward • Retain strategic investment target 5% GNP • Underpriviliged, unemployed etc • Services for the disabled • The aged, and social security. And Health • Education standards • Competitive conditions in Ireland • Rapidly changing world

Is more spending always the answer? • Over time Government has to maintain equilibrium between income and outlays • Just like a household • If it spends more….. • It can tax more, or borrow more [deferred taxation] • What is the impact on the economy of these choices?

The answer is not always to spend more or tax less or more • The public service needs to know: • What is being achieved through the various interventions • How things might be managed to deliver better outcomes from existing resources • How additional resources would best be targetted • What challenges lie ahead, and how to prepare for them. • How best to structure taxes to maximum impact

Some examples • Expenditure on Health services has expanded from €3.4 billion in 1997 to €10 billion now • There are 33,000 more public officials deployed in the sector • There is widespread disattisfaction with the the service in some respects • Are there ways it could be managed better?

At the risk of……….. • What is the most cost effective Irish hospital in terms of maximum output per million spent? • Who ranks hospitals? • Who manages hospitals? • Who reports on hospitals? • When was the last time the Govt Auditor did a value for money report across the hospital system? • How could the management of hospitals be improved?

Continuing……….. • What specific targetted strategies need to be put in place in the private and public sector to prepare for ageing? • What is the most cost effective, relevant and productive third level education institution? • The least? • Therefore……………? • How relevant is education at all levels to tackling long term deprivation

And continuing • Does the Department of Finance need 600 staff costing in excess of €30 million p.a.? • Is investment in Forestry of over €100m p.a. justified? Fishing? Agriculture? • Is investment in Broadband an appropriate intervention • Ask yourself about your own areas of activity

risk taking • Investment in R & D • Programme of SFI launched 2002 now spending over €100 million a year • Concept sound, but difficult to pre-analyse • As programme rolls out, has to lead to positive outcomes. Clear evaluation required.

What is being done • The good things. • Departments have statutory obligations under 1997 PSM Act - economy and efficiency, deploy resources to evaluate • Expenditure reviews • General policy reviews • Better information systems • Policy analysis training

Could do better? • Policy analysis training • Are managers spending too much time operating and not enough managing? • A critical part of managing is Oversight: evaluating what you are achieving, how to get better results, shift resources to other priorities • Another is Foresight • Do we as public officials do enough of this?

I would love to meet • The specialist journalist, the lecturer, the consultant, the teacher, the farmer, …….. who would point out • The expenditure programme affecting their area that should be scrapped • The improvements that could be made in their area by managing resources better • The tax incentives for their area that should be eliminated or reduced

And I would really love • To see managers across Departments, public institutions and agencies building up their skills to ask probing questions and put forward innovative ideas • To see the use of consultancy firms drastically reduced. Departments alone spend €85 million on consultancies, and brilliant as they are, more should be done in-house

To conclude • The scale of Government is huge, • The challenges facing Government and society are very significant • Service provision and tax structure needs to be flexible and geared to meet current and future challenges. • Decision makers in an individual organisation, Department, or at Government need quality advice. • We need to skill up to deliver this • We all need to manage our resources to best effect. • Government, the Legislature and our citizens expect us to deliver on this.

Irish Evaluation Network