PUBLIC EXPENDITURE REFORM

1. FIVE-YEAR SAVINGS FRAMEWORK

Five-year cumulative effect: €62.5bn

2. YEAR-5 SAVINGS MODEL

07 PUBLIC EXPENDITURE REFORM

FRONTLINE PROTECTION • HSE • STATE AGENCIES • AI

3. FRONTLINE PROTECTION

• No reduction in essential frontline healthcare staffing as a consequence of the efficiency programme.
• No reduction in Garda frontline capacity.
• No reduction in teachers/SNAs required for classroom delivery.
• No reduction in essential emergency and social-care provision.
• Administrative reductions should be achieved primarily through AI, shared services, natural attrition, redeployment, agency abolition and procurement reform.

4. HSE REFORM

The HSE should consolidate overlapping administrative functions across health regions and associated public bodies. Priority areas include finance, HR, procurement, IT, payroll, scheduling, reporting, documentation, management layers, consultancy and back-office systems. Administrative employees should be offered redeployment into suitable service-support vacancies where possible.

INDICATIVE YEAR-5 TARGET: €2–€3bn annualised efficiency

5. STATE AGENCY RATIONALISATION

Every State agency should undergo a structured review and be classified as: Keep, Merge, Absorb or Abolish. Corporate functions such as HR, finance, procurement, IT, communications and legal services should increasingly operate through shared national platforms.

INDICATIVE YEAR-5 TARGET: €1.5–€2bn

6. AI AND DIGITAL GOVERNMENT

A national AI administration programme should automate repetitive processes including document processing, form checking, appointment scheduling, correspondence, financial reconciliation, procurement comparison, HR administration, payroll queries, routine reporting, translation, grant administration and data entry. The objective is not mass compulsory dismissal: reductions should principally come through natural turnover, retirement, voluntary exits and redeployment.

INDICATIVE YEAR-5 TARGET: €1.5bn

07 PUBLIC EXPENDITURE REFORM

PROCUREMENT • NGO FUNDING • LOCAL GOVERNMENT • STATE PROPERTY

7. PROCUREMENT REFORM

Government should use its purchasing scale through centralised procurement of medicines, medical equipment, vehicles, IT, software, energy, telecommunications, insurance, professional services and other major categories. A national price-comparison system should identify where public bodies pay materially different prices for equivalent goods or services.

INDICATIVE YEAR-5 TARGET: €2.5bn

8. NGO FUNDING REFORM

Every domestically funded NGO should demonstrate measurable benefit to people in Ireland, the number of people served, outcomes, cost per person, administrative costs and whether the service duplicates an existing public service. Organisations providing essential services can continue to receive substantial funding; organisations without measurable domestic benefit or duplicative activity should have funding reduced or discontinued. A €5,000 maximum transition grant could apply where appropriate.

INDICATIVE DIRECT SAVING: €0.5–€0.75bn annually

9. LOCAL GOVERNMENT & SHARED SERVICES

Local authorities should retain democratic and frontline functions while shared national systems handle payroll, procurement, IT, HR, legal services, accounting, fleet and property management where economically advantageous.

INDICATIVE YEAR-5 TARGET: €1bn

10. STATE PROPERTY & GOVERNANCE

Create a comprehensive public-property register covering ownership, leases, occupancy, running costs and utilisation. Consolidate offices and reduce unnecessary accommodation costs. Review State boards, board fees, senior management structures and overlapping advisory bodies.

11. IMPLEMENTATION RULES

• Every Department and State body receives a five-year expenditure-efficiency target.
• Every agency must undergo a Keep/Merge/Absorb/Abolish review.
• No new administrative body should be created without demonstrating why an existing body cannot perform the function.
• All major procurement contracts should be benchmarked against national purchasing data.
• Administrative headcount reductions should prioritise natural attrition, retirement, voluntary exits and redeployment.
• AI systems must be subject to appropriate security, privacy, audit and human oversight requirements.
• Annual savings should be independently audited and published.
• Frontline service indicators should be published alongside savings to ensure efficiency reforms do not conceal deterioration in service delivery.

07 PUBLIC EXPENDITURE REFORM

REALISTIC SAVINGS • TRANSPARENCY • DELIVERY

12. REALISTIC SAVINGS RANGE

The €18bn figure should be presented as the full-reform target rather than a guaranteed saving solely from administrative cuts. A central case of approximately €17bn by Year 5 is more conservative, with €18bn achievable if procurement, agency rationalisation, AI adoption and duplication reforms are implemented fully.

13. STRONGER ANNUAL TARGETS

Central five-year cumulative saving under this stronger model: approximately €60.5bn.

CONCLUSION

The programme is designed to reduce the cost of running the State rather than reducing essential services. The central objective is to make every euro of public expenditure demonstrate value, eliminate duplication, consolidate institutions, automate repetitive administration and redirect resources toward frontline services and measurable outcomes.

FIVE-YEAR OBJECTIVE

€60–€62.5bn cumulative expenditure savings

≈ €17bn annually in the central case • €18bn under full reform