ORGANISATIONAL REVIEW PROGRAMME:THE WORK of the Department of Transport is to become "considerably more complex" because of issues arising from the roll-out of Transport 21 and tighter public finances, according to a new external report.
The department will face challenges when trying to satisfy demands for greater investment in both road infrastructure and more sustainable modes of transport, required to meet Ireland's climate change obligations, the report of the Organisational Review Programme found.
The review, commissioned by then taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2006, was overseen by a committee of senior public service figures and a selection of independent external members. It was described by Mr Ahern at the time as an organisational "health check".
This pilot phase of the programme examined three Government departments: Transport, Agriculture and Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
"The growing importance of the transport safety and security agenda" and "the increasing breadth and complexity of EU and other international regulatory requirements" will also add to the complex backdrop facing the department, the report states.
It found that communication on "strategic and operational priorities" between top management and staff in the Department of Transport needs to be addressed further.
It also says there is a need for "greater emphasis on following through on departmental customer consultation exercises".
The "financial and accommodation areas" of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment were found to be managed well during its consultation with the programme.
However, the report also found that it needs to strengthen its "knowledge base to deepen its capacity for comprehensive understanding across all policy areas" and that "there is room for improvement" in the way the department uses feedback to develop programmes.
"The department must take early action to deal with issues in the area of continuous improvement and innovation to enable it to meet future opportunities," it also states.
The department will be better placed to respond to existing and emerging challenges if it further develops its "policy analysis, evaluation and development capacity, especially in relation to proposals from its offices and agencies", it stated.
The review found the Department of Agriculture to be "well placed to meet future challenges" in a number of areas.
"The department is good at developing strategy and setting direction based in part on its thorough knowledge and experience of the agri-food sector," it states.
There were some criticisms of the department in the report, which says it "needs to invest time and resources to substantially strengthen internal leadership capacity" and place "a far greater focus on efficiency" in managing staff resources.
