department of social and family affairs annual report 2006 - Welfare.ie

goal 6: the department and its staff
The reports and production systems have
been refined and adapted over the past year
and the underlying data has been validated. A
business intelligence tool – Business Objects
– has been acquired to deliver the reports and
enable interrogation of the underlying data.
Management reports in respect of Social Welfare
Local Offices will be rolled-out in Spring 2007.
> Costing and “Annual Output
Statement”
During 2006 work was done on the design of an
automated system to facilitate the production
of the “Annual Output Statement” which will be
required for 2007. This system will also provide
an environment for the development of costing
reports. A draft of the “Annual Output Statement”
was produced and the process of validating the
data and data structure is ongoing.
> Procurement Services
A draft Procurement Strategy was prepared in
2006 and will be finalised in 2007. The strategy
includes an annual procurement plan which
will ensure that the Department continues to
maximise the potential to deliver value for money
in the area of procurement.
> Performance under Prompt
Payment Legislation
The Department complied with the provisions
of Prompt Payment Legislation in 2006. In the
relatively small number of cases where the
statutory limit for payment was exceeded, the
relevant amount of interest was included in
the total payment. In 2006, there were 90 late
payments, the value of which amounted to 0.2%
of total payments. Prompt payment interest
amounted to approximately €3,200.
> OBJECTIVE 4
Promote and develop a risk awareness and
management culture which will complement and
underpin the Department’s corporate governance
process.
A dedicated Risk Management Division has
responsibility for promoting and supporting the
development of a risk management system in the
Department. It provides the necessary technical
and administrative support and guidance to
enable the business to understand, identify and
manage risk.
Following the successful implementation of a
comprehensive Risk Management Programme
in 2005, work continued through 2006 to
more deeply embed the process to ensure that
the management of risk is fully integrated
into business processes. All Divisions across
the Department are now actively engaged in
identifying and managing risks. High Level Risks
are monitored on a quarterly basis by a high-level
Risk and Operations Committee.
The Department is highly dependent on secure
and resilient ICT systems to support critical
business process. During 2006, an Information
Risk Management project was undertaken to
identify and address risks arising in relation to
the confidentiality, availability or integrity of the
important information resources.
> OBJECTIVE 5
Design, develop and implement document and
data management strategies for the Department.
Document and records handling unit
The document, record and information
management (DRIM) programme is a key element
of the Department’s ongoing change and
modernisation programme.
The vision is to have all documents, records
and information easily accessible, usable
and managed in a manner that satisfies all
stakeholders. The intention is to eliminate, in so
far as is possible, paper from the administrative
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