Public Expenditure
Reform
Sub-topic: Spending
Reviews
Contact: R. Gallagher
Ext: 5520
FAST FACTS
Spending Reviews/ Comprehensive Reviews of Expenditure

The plan to review the entirety of Government expenditure on a periodic basis through
a comprehensive review of expenditure on a periodic basis is a key expenditure reform.

The focus of the review process is to ensure that public resources are used in an efficient
way to deliver effective services and to help Government ensure that expenditure is
allocated in the most effective way possible.

The first review was carried out in 2011. It involved a line by line examination of
expenditure by each Government Department in conjunction with D/PER. It informed
budget choices for the next 3 years.

The second review was carried out during the course of 2014. The process involved a
detailed examination of public expenditure to inform expenditure allocations for the
three year period 2015 to 2017. It built on the previous analysis and on the body of
evaluation and analysis built up in Departments over the intervening period.
Comprehensive Reviews of Expenditure Process

An effective spending review process relies on relevant, timely and high quality
evaluations of public spending programmes.

Departments prepare Evaluation Reports/Reviews and Vote Sections within D/PE&R
provide their own analysis of expenditure programmes as well as observations on what
was submitted by the line Department.

The spending reviews have been based around a core set of evaluation questions or the
three Value for Money ‘Tests’:
o Rationale, Objectives, Relevance - What are the objectives of the programme?
Is there a valid rationale for undertaking the programme? Is the policy
consistent with the Government Programme?
o Effectiveness - Is the programme achieving its objectives?
o Efficiency - Is the maximum being delivered with the resources invested? How
can greater efficiency be achieved in the context of a lower level of
expenditure?

This approach has sought to ensure that the resource allocation decisions attain the right
balance of expenditure and that public resources are used efficiently to deliver effective
public services. As part of this process, the Public Spending Code is an important tool
that is available on-line to Departments that are undertaking this type of work.

In addition to the Evaluation Reports/Reviews, IGEES members in D/PE&R undertake
examinations of horizontal or cross-cutting issues.

The reviews from Departments and D/PER are considered by a high level steering
group. A set of options based on the reviews are prepared to advise Government on
expenditure decisions to be taken in the context of the Budget. The outcome of the
review is published in a Comprehensive Expenditure Report. The supporting analysis
by Departments and D/PER is published on the Department of Public Expenditure and
Reform website.

While there are now more tools available to help support the CRE process, there is still
some way to go before it could be concluded that processes of this nature have available
a sufficient volume of relevant, timely and high-quality evaluations and performance
information.

Looking to the future, the dividends of recent spending reviews are likely to be realised
if Departments integrate the methodologies set out under the spending review into their
annual budgetary negotiations and daily management of resources as well as investing
in appropriate training and resources to enhance the capacity of their staff to deliver the
appropriate analysis.
BRIEF QUESTION AND ANSWER SECTION
What was the result of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure process in 2014?

The Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017 was published on Budget Day
and sets out the:
o Overall context including papers on: Public Expenditure Management: Constraints, Pressures and Reform
 Government Expenditure in Ireland: Support, Services and Investment
 Expenditure overview
o Expenditure allocations for 2015-17 for each Vote Group that provides
information on:
 Resource allocation broken down by Pay / Pension / Non Pay and
Capital and by Programme within the Vote Group
 Summary details of the Public Services to be delivered in 2015 by
Programme
 Summary of the measures being introduced by the Government

In addition to the spending reviews report, the Department also published on-line the
various background documents including the Departments’ and Vote Sections’
Evaluation Reports and IGEES evaluation papers. The Government is committed to
carrying out the CRE process in an open and transparent manner.

The individual reviews carried out by each Department set out the main expenditure
challenges for the years ahead. The Government reflected this in setting the allocations
for 2015-17.

Having identified challenges and pressures, Government Departments are in a position
to prioritise expenditure, address emerging issues by examining efficiency and
harnessing reform dividends.

Spending reviews are not just about cutting expenditure. They should be a permanent
feature of a budget preparation process. As the Irish economy recovers, the need to
identify savings measures will reduce but there will remain many and varied demands
for increased resources. In order to examine these in a coherent manner and inform
Government’s budgetary decisions, a CRE process provides a whole-of-government
overview and a specific focus on how well or otherwise specific expenditure
programmes and public services are being delivered.
What policy analysis was carried out by staff in your Department to support the
Comprehensive Review of Expenditure?

As part of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure, Irish Government Economic &
Evaluation Service members in my Department carried out a small number of policy
and programmes reviews. These have been published online on the IGEES website.

The published papers are presented as an objective assessment, rooted in evidence and
in the principles of policy analysis. They are intended to challenge and probe existing
policies and expenditure programmes. The policy Departments that are responsible for
the area are consulted as part of the review process. They can, and may often, disagree
with the analysis or the findings. The papers are not presented as, nor intended to
represent, the views of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, or indeed – in
every case – the overall policy view of the Department for Public Expenditure and
Reform.

IGEES members in the Central Expenditure Evaluation Unit prepared papers on:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Public Investment in Research & Development
Behavioural Economics
The Cost of the Public Service
Future Expenditure Risks associated with Climate Change/Climate Finance
Early Childhood Education and the ECCE Scheme
Pobal

IGEES members in the Vote sections prepared papers on sectoral specific issues:
o State Pension
o Disability Schemes
o Job Seekers Benefit
o Widows Pension
o Health Expenditure
 Agency Expenditure
 Hospital Expenditure
 HSE Pay Analysis