Niamh O’Donoghue
Secretary General
Department of Social Protection
 Many
reform programmes
 Many organisations
 The challenge of change
 What doesn’t work
 What does work!
 The DSP Change story
31 years (and counting)....
◦ “Devlin”
◦ Serving the Country Better
◦ SMI
◦ OECD Review
◦ TPS
◦ CPA

Dept of Agriculture
◦ ‘Local Office’ structures; CAP reform; Tribunals

Dept of Health
◦ Hospital Closures; Agency reduction;
Professionalisation;

Civil Service Commission
◦ Service Delivery; Customer Orientation;
modernisation of practice

Revenue
◦ Restructuring; Integration; Building Capacity

Department of Social Protection
Not ready (didn’t anticipate!)
 Resistance – staff, management,
stakeholders
 Fear
 Public criticism
 Focus on what isn’t done vs what is
done
 Centrally determined (theory v practice)
 Focus on decision rather than
implementation

Decide and presume!
 No logistical awareness

◦ one size does not fit all!!
‘Promotion’ of change addressed to
the ‘wrong’ audience
 Over specification
 Focus on structures...and little else
 Budget focus alone, blunt instrument
approach

Clarity of vision and purpose
 Honest communication
 Engagement
 Shared ownership
 Realistic, but ambitious, timeframes
 Flexibility and agility
 Risk management
 Celebration of achievement

What ...
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•
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Who ...
Policy development
Income support – over 50
Schemes – unique customer
service role
Control and risk management
Activation
Referral
Information services


Government and the tax-payer
Children and families
e.g. Child benefit, FIS, carers, school meals

People of working age
Jobseekers, lone parents, disabled, widowed

Older people
Pensions, household benefit etc.
How...
Direct Provision
Via
Agencies
Collaboration
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National network of 10
regional headquarters and
122 branch/local offices
Over 5,000 department staff
50 separate welfare schemes
and services
Primary focus on income
support
Annually:
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2.5 million applications for
social welfare
Changing needs of citizens
5
4
3
2006
2
2007
2008
1
0
6.5 million telephone calls
83 million payments
450,000 assignments
conducted by social welfare
inspector
750,000 control reviews
Process change, supported by
technology solutions, is critical to
meeting these needs
Previous presentation...............
 Scale and volume increase in
business
 Business Process Re-engineering
 IT Developments
◦ Local Office Modernisation Project; Means
Project; Non contrib schemes (SPNC; DA;
CA); Public Services Card; Medical
Assessment; Activation/Case
Management; R+I

Additional Resources
Aireacht/Executive Divide
 Management Board
 Policy and operations
 Regions
 Centralised Schemes
 Support Areas
 Approach to business development

Social & Family Affairs Organisational Structure - July 2009
Bernadette Lacey
Secretary General, DSFA
Niamh O'Donoghue
Director General, SWS
Vera Dervan
Niall Barry
Gerry Daly
Maureen Waldron
Oliver Ryan
Eoin O'Broin
Brian O'Raghallaigh
Assistant Director General
Director
Director
Assistant Director General
Director
Pension Schemes, Information Services,
DRIM
Information Systems
Corporate Development, Risk
Management, Facilities Management,
Children Schemes /Treatment Benefits
Illness/Family Schemes, Business
Transformation
Helen McDonald
Nadine Mangan
Mary O'Sullivan
Business Architect
IS Division Management &
Development
Document, Record & Information
Management
Dr. Clement Leech
Assistant Secretary
General Register Office, Client
Eligibility & Identity Services,
DAO/FOI, Control & Prosecutions
Director of Regions
Human Resources, Accounts, Budgets &
Finance, Core Functions
Kieran Feely
Celine Moore
Marie O'Neill
Chief Medical Advisor
Corp Dev, Business Plans (MSU), SMI,
Partnership Support, Disability Sectoral Plan
Denis Galvin
Paul Carroll
Carers Schemes
Customer Service
Risk Management
Family Income Supplement
Information Services
Business Information Security
Medical Reviews &
Assessments
General Register Office
Richard Shine
Regional Director's Office
Kevin Coady
Client Systems
Vacancy
Long-Term Illness
Standard Authentication Framework
Environment
Geraldine Gleeson
Tim Quirke
State Pension (Contributory)
Widows/Widowers Pension
Victor Galvin
Anne Vaughan
Dermot Condon
Elderly and Children ICT Systems
State Pension (Non Contributory)
One Parent Families
Joan McMahon
Western
-
Barry Kennedy
North East
-
Philip Cox
Southern
-
Neil Kelly
Maintenance Recovery
Anne Tynan
Central Overpayments & Debt
Management
Fraud Control
Central Prosecutions
Household Benefits
Sean Fay
Family Affairs Unit, Equality Review of
SW Code, Lone Parents Policy,
Guardian’s & Deserted Wives’
Payment Policy, Support Agency and
National Longitudinal Study of Children
Deirdre Shanley
Employment Support Services /
Labour Market
Decentralisation, Industrial Relations & FOI,
Competitions, Assignments & Promotions
Anne Vaughan
Paddy Doherty
Policy Framework
Patricia Murphy
Client Eligibility Services
South East -
Philip
O'Donohoe
Electronic Exchange of Social Security
Information
School Meals
Human Resources Policy, Employee Assistance
Service, Grievance & Disciplinary, Anti-Bullying
& Harassment Policy, Staff Training &
Development
Domicilliary Care Allowance
Fuel Scheme
John Bohan
Scope / PRSI Refunds
Mid West
-
Vacancy
Free Travel
Project Governance
Pension, Carers Policy
Ursula Gilhawley
Early Childcare Supplement
Treatment Benefit
Office for Social Inclusion,
Combat Poverty Agency, Money
Advice & Budgeting Service
Anne McManus
EU Co-ordinator, International
Relations, North-South Cooperation
Child Benefit
Maternity Schemes
Tony Kieran
Catherine Hazlett
Don Watts
Supplementary Welfare Allowance
Liam Walsh
Dave Dillon
Office for Social Inclusion,
MABS, Combat Poverty,
EU/International
Orlaigh Quinn
Business Improvement Unit
Service Delvery Modernisation
Pensions / Carers / Working
Age Policy, Policy Framework,
Activation
Legislation Division, Press Office,
Planning Sec., Treatment Benefit
Policy, Social Partnership, Legal
Adviser
Health and Safety
Guardians Pension
Director
Vote & Social Insurance Fund, Salaries &
Payments, Financial System, Treasury,
Reconciliation of Payments
Facilities Management
Archives
Working Age ICT Systems
Medical Review & Assessment
Medical Reviews &
Assessments
Estimates, Admin Budgets, Budget, Financial
Management, Annual Output Statement,
Means Test Policy, Accountability Policy
Gerry Mangan
Unemployment, Incentives,
Disability and PRSI
Helen Faughnan
North West -
Business Continuity Planning
Case Management
Teresa Leonard
Mary Kennedy
Alice O'Flynn
Assistant Secretary
Siobhan Lawlor
Deputy Chief Medical Advisor
Payment Services
Legislation, SWA,
Children/Family/Equality Policy,
Statistics
Regional Managers:
Client Identity Services
IS Operational Services
Customer Comments and Complaints /
Channels
Tom Mulherin
Assistant Secretary
Short-Term Illness
Bernard Tonge
Daragh O'Connor
Brendan Friel
Director
Child Income Support / FIS
Architecture and Platform Support
Dublin South -
John Glennon
Dublin North -
Colm O'Neill
Vincent Clohisey
Core Functions
Paul Morrin
(transfer of functions from HSE to DSFA)
Statistics, Business Intelligence
Brian Duffy
VFM Special Projects
Seamus Quinn
Internal Audit
Brian Flynn
Director
Social Welfare
Appeals Office
Department of Social Protection Organisation Structure - May 2011
Secretary General
Internal Audit
Niamh O'Donoghue
Seamus Quinn
Deputy Secretary
Anne Vaughan
Geraldine Gleeson
Brian O'Raghallaigh
Orlaigh Quinn
Kathleen Stack
Dr Clem Leech
Chief Medical Adviser
Helen Faughnan
Niall Barry
Chief Appeals Officer
Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary
John McKeon
Alice O'Flynn
Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary
Deputy CMA
Deputy CAO
Finance
HR Strat +
Services
Enterprise Architect
Control
Operational Policy
Transformation - CWS
Working Age Policy
Dr Ronan O'Callaghan
Dan Kavanagh
Siobhan Lawlor
Celine Moore
Sean Fay
Deirdre Shanley
Bernard Tonge
Lucy Fallon-Byrne
Dave Dillon
Transformation - FAS
Activation Agenda
Liam Treacy
Marie O'Neill
Transformation - IR
Community Schemes
Anne Tynan
TJ Fleming
Paul Carroll
Benefits/MRCM
FAS Liaison
James Sadlier
Brendan Friel
Padraig O'Conaill
South East Region
DA/Carers/FIS
PRSI/Scope/R+I/ER
Philip O'Donohoe
Catherine Kellaghan
Mary Kennedy
Disability Policy
International
Joan McMahon
Anne McManus
Rita Tighe
Budget/IMF Reporting
HR Staff Develop.
Software Eng.
Mid Region +SIU
Denis Moynihan
Cathy Barron
Kevin Coady
Phil Cox
Dublin Sth Region
Mary O'Sullivan
Leg/SoS/BP/RiskMgt
Pens/Carers/HHB
Infrastructure
Border
Counties
Helen McDonald
Patricia Murphy
Liam Walsh
Don Watts
Finbar
Murphy
Business Intelligence
Contrib Pensions
Service Delivery
Paul Morrin
Fiona Ward
Victor Galvin
West Region
Paula Kelly
Dublin Nth Region
Barry Kennedy
Facilities/BISU
Non Con Pens/HHB
Business
Architect
Tim Quirke
Miriam Finnegan
Teresa Leonard
John Shannon
Child Inc Policy
VFM Special Projects
GRO
Brian Duffy
Kieran Feely
CIS
Greg Crowley
John Bohan
South Region
CB/DCA/TB/CES
Neil Kelly
Tony Kieran
Greg Crowley
Social Inclusion
SWA Policy
Catherine Hazlett
Kieran O'Dwyer
Richard Shine
Information/DRIM
Daragh O'Connor
GRO
FÁS Employment
and Community
Services
Rural Social &
Community
Development Schemes
CWOs/SWA
National
Employment and
Entitlements
Service
Redundancy and
Insolvency
Customer centric service
 Integrated supports

◦ Employment advice; needs identification
and referral; job matching; income
supports; exceptional needs supports
Tailored Case Management
 Any door will do
 Any channel will work

Organisation size:
◦ From 5,000 to 7,000
 Organisation presence:
◦ From 130 to 180 offices + 700
localised clinics
 Service offering now much broader

◦ Sophisticated support/information
systems
New customer groupings – employers
 ‘Integration issues’ – IT, HR, Culture
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Communications critical and underway
◦ Customers
◦ Staff
Planning in place for different components
Organisations working closely together
Pilot projects in various locations
Overall plan to Government soon
Specific milestones to be detailed re Welfare
System reform agenda; organisation change
and service delivery
Government
Reduce SW spend..
Reform SW system..
Activation of Working
Age population...
Efficient payment
systems...
Efficient customer
engagement....
Accessible, agile
systems....
Customer/Taxpayer
Scale of change
 Not a ‘green-field site’
 Expectations – staff and customers
 Multiple and competing priorities

◦ Whilst keeping business going...
Organisation capacity
 ‘Core’ business of income support has
stabilised at very ‘high’ levels

Central Role
 Better service to customers
 Better job satisfaction
 Diverse career opportunities
 New technology, new skills
 Different perspectives

Chance to make a difference!