LAST UPDATE | 5 Mar 2025

THE GOVERNMENT IS set to counter a motion tabled by Independent Ireland requesting that a public-spending oversight body be established to audit and identify areas of waste.

The opposition party is seeking calling for the government to establish a ‘Department of Efficiency and Reform’ – similar to a new US government agency – to identify and put an end to what it claims is unnecessary public spending.

It comes after a number of high-profile cases in Ireland in which large amounts of taxpayer money was used on expensive public projects or items.

The motion specifically cites the infamous €356,000 Oireachtas bike shed and the €120,000 x-ray machine at the National Gallery of Ireland, which Independent Ireland claims were unacceptable uses of money.

‘Boxer’ hits back

The calls for an Irish DOGE also received pushback from one government minster who defended its record on expensive projects.

Minister of State Kevin “Boxer” Moran has also defended the expenditure around controversial projects financed by public money.

The Longford–Westmeath TD engaged in fierce exchanges in defence of public spending on a range of projects, including a security hut near Government Buildings and a bike shelter at Leinster House.

Moran, who holds responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) within the Department of Public Expenditure, said he wanted to counteract a narrative that the Government had not been placing oversight and accountability at the heart of the expenditure and management.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. There are a wide range of frameworks that public bodies must follow to ensure value for money and accountability at the highest level,” Moran said.

The Independent criticised the opposition for describing the structure as a “bike shed”, instead calling on them to “get it right” by describing it as a “bike shelter” at a listed building that was “cherished by people all over the world”.

Independent Ireland calls for an Irish DOGE

Although the government sought to make quick changes to spending and procurement procedures to ensure such purchases have the correct levels of oversight, Independent Ireland deemed the response inadequate.

Instead, the party has called on the government to start an agency similar to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the United States, which is led by billionaire Elon Musk, to have greater oversight over public spending.

Independent Ireland’s agency would be set up as an independent entity, which recruited from the private sector, and would make recommendations and corrective measures on other departments’ spending.

Its aim is to bring what it claims would be accountability and efficiency to public expenditure.

The plan, first launched during the general election campaign last year, would also give powers to the agency to conduct “unannounced audits” and to escalate concerns to the Comptroller and Auditor General.

A motion in which the party was due to outline its idea will today be countered by Public Expenditure minister Jack Chambers, who will condemn the waste of any public money and note that sums spent in recent years to provide better value to taxpayers.

The Government’s motion will instead highlight the role of the existing accounting officers in the public service who “operate under high standards of accountability”.

Chambers is also expected to outline frameworks in his department that seek to ensure value for money.

The Department of Public Expenditure is due to conduct a review of public financial procedures, with a view to further enhance requirements to prevent the waste of taxpayers’ money.

With reporting by PA and Eoghan Dalton