A motion for the establishment of a Department of Efficiency and Reform will be brought forward to the Dáil today by Independent Ireland.
Party leader Michael Collins denied to Newstalk Breakfast that the idea was inspired by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the US and said that, in fact, Elon Musk had copied the idea from him.
“At the very outset, when we set up our own website, when we set up our own policies early 2020-2024, there was always the call from us for a Department of Efficiency and Reform,” he said.
“So, I think actually it’s Elon Musk and Donald Trump has copied Independent Ireland’s policies and are delivering them in the United States.
“And the best of luck to them – but we have to deliver here ourselves in this country.”
Elon Musk gestures as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)The proposal comes following a series of scandals around public expenditure, with the most recent example being the €120k spent by the OPW on an unused x-ray machine.
Deputy Collins said his plan would see the private sector investigate the Government’s spending.
“We have a problem, the Government is investigating the Government,” he said.
“You set up a team of experts, of independent people who are experts in efficiency, this is how it’s going to work.
“It’s the only way it can work because at the moment there is no accountability - €2.5 billion heading to €3 billion on a children’s hospital, €22 million on Covid ventilators that was never used, €2.5 billion on medical compensation over the last few years.
“If you have a department of efficiency and reform, surely be to God the huge expenditure that’s going through at this present time will have to go through that Department."
These responsibilities are currently under the mandate of the Comptroller and Auditor General role, currently manned by Seamus McCarthy.
However, Deputy Collins said “the Comptroller and Auditor General isn’t delivering at this present time”.
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Main image: Leinster House, Dail Eireann, Kildare St Dublin which houses the Irish National Parliament. Image: Alamy
