Minister Howlin addresses the UN Public Service Forum in Korea

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin T.D visited Korea to participate in the UN Public Service Forum held in Korea from Monday, 23 June to Thursday, 26 June. On the opening day of the forum the Minister made a keynote speech on public sector reform in Ireland to an audience of more than a 1000 drawn from countries all around the world.

During the speech the Minister highlighted key areas in which Ireland had made substantial progress in the area of public service reform such as “reducing costs; improving productivity; more digital delivery of services; development of shared services; and putting in place the structures to reform public procurement and property asset management…..” Minister Howlin also extolled the virtues of UNPS Forum for encouraging and enabling countries to share “innovative approaches to service delivery and by cooperating in areas of Mutual interest”

Minister Howlin’s visit also included a number of bi lateral meetings and events highlighting Ireland's economic recovery. These included a meeting with the Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance Choo, Kyung ho and addressing an economic policy seminar on ‘The financial Crisis 5 years on – the Irish and EU experiences’ at the Korean Institute of International Economic Policy (KIEP).