Department of an Taoiseach

Department of the Taoiseach
External Service Delivery Plan
Overall Strategy
The Department of the Taoiseach continues to examine all areas of its work to identify projects / services which may be suitable for external
delivery. However, given the small size of the Department and the nature of its work, there is likely to be limited scope for additional external
service delivery, outside of various shared services initiatives.
Overview of Current Position
A number of Departmental functions / services are already delivered using shared services or external service providers and many of the
functions remaining in-house involve elements of external service delivery.
Existing shared services arrangements in place are as follows:
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Video Conferencing – Houses of the Oireachtas;
Network and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) – Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine;
Oracle Financials and Corepay – Department of Justice (Financial Shared Services);
Peoplesoft HRMS – Office of the Government Chief Information Officer;
Website Hosting – Local Government Management Agency;
Library Management System – Department of Finance; and
Training - Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine & Department of Social Protection.
The Department is scheduled to move to the Payroll Shared Services Centre and Peoplepoint (the Civil Service Human Resources & Pensions
Shared Services Centre) in 2015. The Department also liaises closely with the Office of Government Procurement to ensure that value for
money is secured including through the use of shared procurement frameworks.
We continue to need maintenance / support contracts with a number of vendors for the various technologies and products we use and utilise
external service providers from time to time e.g. to deliver enhancements to eCabinet or to our Websites or Extranets.
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The Department uses IBM (formerly Lotus) Notes extensively. As well as for eMail, Calendar and Contacts, a suite of business systems has
been developed in Notes to manage Parliamentary Questions; Freedom of Information Requests; the Department’s Performance Management
and Development System; Representations. Our Records/Document Management systems are also Notes-based and include Registry File
Tracking and Work Support and Process Management Systems (WSPMS). Most of the development work on this suite of business systems is
carried out in-house but occasionally we use the services of an external vendor.
Furthermore, the Department would be very much open to being involved in any further shared services initiatives developed centrally by the
Office of the Government Chief Information Officer.
Proposed Governance and Resourcing
In areas where shared services / external service delivery mechanisms are already in place, the relevant Section Heads manage the development
and delivery of the projects. All significant projects are overseen by the Department’s Management Advisory Committee and may be subject to
scrutiny by internal and external audit and the Department’s Audit Committee. In the case of the Department’s proposed move to the Payroll
Shared Services Centre and PeoplePoint, governance arrangements will be agreed centrally and service level agreements will be in place in
advance of the move. In so far as is possible, preparations for the move to shared services (e.g. data clean-up; process alignment; roll-out of
training / information sessions) will be managed using existing staffing resources. However, it must be acknowledged that there will likely be a
lead-in time before savings are secured following the move to shared services.
Prioritisation Process
Priority will be given to our movement to the Payroll Shared Services Centre (with go-live currently scheduled for February 2015) and to
PeoplePoint (latest information available indicates that go-live will be in either February or November 2015).
Human Resources
The Department of the Taoiseach will use its existing business planning and workforce planning processes to address any human resource issues
arising from the implementation of this External Service Delivery Plan.
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Functions currently delivered externally
No.
Action/Deliverable
Detailed Description
(define scope,
volumes, headcount)
Level at which
contract administered
(e.g. Local, Regional,
National)
Suitability
for multidepartment
contracts
Annual value of
contract(s) (€)
Senior
Responsible
Owner
Local
Yes
Varies
Catering is
purchased at
divisional level.
Local
Yes
€ 15,000
Personnel
Officer
Local
Yes
€0
Personnel
Officer
Local
Yes
€0
Local
Yes
€115,200
Personnel
Officer
Personnel
Officer
Cross-Departmental Function 1 – Facilities Management
1
Catering
2
Cleaning
3
Security
4
Buildings maintenance
5
Switch Service
We have an approved list of
caterers that we can use for
events/engagements in
Government buildings.
The Department has its own
cleaning staff so cleaning is
delivered internally.
However, there are a
number of services
delivered externally e.g.
window cleaning, etc.
The building is secured by
the Services staff, An Garda
Síochána and the Military
Police.
Provided by the Office of
Public Works.
The Department’s telephone
switch is provided for by
Eircom.
Cross-Departmental Function 2 - Procurement/logistics
1
Procurement
The Department is liaising
closely with the Office of
Government Procurement
on all purchasing decisions.
Cross-Departmental Function 3 - Human Resources
3
No.
Action/Deliverable
Detailed Description
(define scope,
volumes, headcount)
Level at which
contract administered
(e.g. Local, Regional,
National)
Suitability
for multidepartment
contracts
Annual value of
contract(s) (€)
Senior
Responsible
Owner
1
Payroll and Travel & Subsistence
processing
Local
Yes
Personnel
Officer
2
Peoplesoft HRMS
Payroll services for 191
staff members is provided
by FSS in Killarney.
However, we are in the
process of moving to the
Payroll Shared Services
Centre.
Provided by the OGCIO
Local
Yes
3
Training
Management Training
Programmes for EO, HEO
and AP are provided by the
Department of Agriculture,
Food and the Marine on a
collaborative shared basis.
Local
Personnel
Officer
Strategic HR
We also collaborate with the
Department of Social
Protection who has provided
CO development and
Customer Service training.
Local
Yes
Finance Officer
Cross-Departmental Function 4 - Finance/Business Processes
1
Financial Management
Financial Management
(incl. automated processing
of travel & subsistence
claims) provided by FSS
Killarney.
Local
4
No.
Action/Deliverable
Detailed Description
(define scope,
volumes, headcount)
Level at which
contract administered
(e.g. Local, Regional,
National)
Suitability
for multidepartment
contracts
Annual value of
contract(s) (€)
Senior
Responsible
Owner
2
Records management/scanning/filing
The Department uses
Glenbeigh for off-site
storage of files. The
Department also uses
Leeches for the shredding of
confidential waste.
Local
Yes
€5,800 for off-site storage
€6,000 for shredding
Personnel
Officer
Local
Yes
Not charged for
IT Manager
Local
Some elements
would be
suitable but
on-site
presence
would be
required to
provide
required
service levels.
€145,000
IT Manager
Local
No – Bespoke
application.
€126,000
IT Manager
Cross-Departmental Function 5 – Information and Communication Technology
1
Network & VOIP Administration
2
Department of the Taoiseach staff
provide system support and system
integration services with the
assistance on one on-site contractor
and draw down contracts from
various vendors.
3
Application Management - eCabinet
Shared Service with the
Department of Agriculture,
Food and the Marine
We operate a single
helpdesk for both the
eCabinet application which
is used by all Government
Departments and for our
own systems and services.
Staff in the IT unit provide
the helpdesk service along
with one fulltime contractor
whose primary role is to
support the eCabinet
application and
infrastructure.
The eCabinet application is
a web-based application
used by all Government
Departments for circulation
of confidential, classified
government documents. It
is a bespoke application
5
No.
Action/Deliverable
4
Hosting
5
Video Conferencing (VC)
6
Print Service Management
Detailed Description
(define scope,
volumes, headcount)
built by an external vendor
who also provides ongoing
maintenance and
development services. The
application is managed by
DOT staff with the
assistance of an on-site
external contractor.
Our websites are hosted by
the LGMA.
We have a shared service
arrangement in place with
the Houses of the Oireachtas
who host our VC endpoints
on their VC infrastructure.
Following a mini-tender
competition under the
National Procurement
Service Framework, we
have a Managed Print
Service contract in place
since October 2012. An
external company supplies,
maintains and provides
consumables for all our
printers.
Level at which
contract administered
(e.g. Local, Regional,
National)
Suitability
for multidepartment
contracts
Annual value of
contract(s) (€)
Senior
Responsible
Owner
National
Yes
€16,000
IT Manager
Local
Yes
Not charged for
IT Manager
Local
Yes
€50,000
IT Manager
6
Areas currently being tested for External Service Delivery or in the process of being moved to external delivery
No.
Action/Deliverable
Detailed Description (define
scope, headcount, volumes,
current data quality)
Key Steps for
Implementation and
Associated
Timelines
(Start/End Dates)
Suitability
for SharedService
Suitability
for multidepartment
contracts
Expected
€ Saving
(inc.
asmptns)
Senior
Responsi
ble
Owner
Go-live scheduled for
February 2015
Yes
Yes
€0
Personnel
Officer /
Finance
Officer
Go-live scheduled for
February / November
2015.
Yes
Yes
Cross-Departmental Function 1 - Human Resources
1
Payroll and Travel &
Subsistence processing
2
Transactional HR Services
Payroll and Travel & Subsistence
processing services for 191 staff
members currently provided by FSS
Killarney moving to the Payroll
Shared Services Centre.
Transactional HR Services
(excluding the management of Time
& Attendance) moving to
PeoplePoint.
Personnel
Officer
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