Finance Minister Brian Cowen last night announced a wide range of measures aimed at improving value for money in Government spending.
In a speech to Dublin Chamber of Commerce last night, Brian Cowen said that fixed price lump-sum contracts would become the norm, whether in consultancy contracts or infrastructure projects. He also said that there will be cost-benefit analysis on all projects worth more than €30m, which will also be audited by the Department of Finance.
Any extension of a service contract worth more than €0.25m will have to go out to tender, while the Minister promised more vigorous competition for public sector contracts.
Mr Cowen also proposed the recruitment to the public sector of full-time specialists in areas like IT procurement and Capital Project Evaluation, as well as secondment of IT procurement specialists between the public and private sectors.
A single individual will have to take responsibility for all major IT and capital projects, and moves will be made to cut the cost of buying land under Compulsory Purchase Orders.
Finally, the Minister also proposed publishing a performance table, which would compare project outcomes to the budget agreed on contract.
