Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform

The Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services, Reform and Digitalisation (Irish: An Roinn Caiteachais Phoiblí, Bonneagair, Seirbhísí Poiblí, Athchóirithe agus Digiteachaithe) is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services, Reform and Digitalisation.

Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services, Reform and Digitalisation

Department overview
Formed	6 July 2011
Jurisdiction	Government of Ireland
Headquarters	Government Buildings, Merrion Street, Dublin 53°20′21″N 6°15′13″W
Minister responsible	Jack Chambers, Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services, Reform and Digitalisation
Department executive	David Moloney, Secretary General
Website	Official website

The department was established in July 2011,^[1] and took over the functions of Public Expenditure from the Department of Finance. The department is also responsible for overseeing the reform of the Public Sector.

Departmental team

The headquarters and ministerial offices of the department are in Government Buildings, Merrion Street, Dublin. The departmental team consists of the following:

• Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services, Reform and Digitalisation: Jack Chambers, TD
  • Minister of State for the Office of Public Works: Kevin "Boxer" Moran, TD
  • Minister of State for public procurement, digitalisation and eGovernment: Emer Higgins, TD
• Secretary General of the Department: David Moloney

Overview

Government Buildings, where the department is headquartered

The department took over two of the six divisions within the Department of Finance. They are:

• 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

The department has 11 divisions:^[2]

• Civil Service Human Resources Division
• Corporate Office
• Expenditure Policy and Reporting Division
• Expenditure Management EU Policy and Audit Division
• Human Resources Strategy Unit
• Labour Market and Enterprise Policy Division
• Public Service Pay and Pensions Division
• Office of Government Procurement
• Office of the Chief Medical Officer
• Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
• Reform Division

History

The department was created by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2011 with Brendan Howlin as its first minister.

Date	Effect
4 July 2011	Establishment of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Transfer of Public expenditure and the public service from the Department of Finance[3]
5 August 2011	Transfer of various functions from the Department of Finance[4]
27 September 2011	Transfer of further functions from the Department of Finance[5]
16 December 2011	Transfer of money laundering and terrorism from the Department of Finance[6]
19 December 2013	Further functions granted to the Minister[7]
1 February 2023	Renamed as the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform[8]
1 March 2023	Transfer of Standards in Public Office Commission to the Department of Finance[9]

Government reform legislation

Since its establishment, the department has introduced a number of government reform measures:^[10]

• Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012, which brought approximately 200 additional public bodies under the scrutiny of the Ombudsman;
• Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) 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.

See also

• Revenue Commissioners