Implementing the Corporate Plan
In this Corporate Plan we have set out our approach covering the next three years towards further developing and maintaining an effective system of civil legal aid in Ireland. We are conscious that the economic environment is likely to be more constrained than at any time in the past decade. This provides considerable challenges for the Board and staff in seeking to ensure that such an important and fundamental service for the more disadvantaged in our society is maintained in a meaningful manner and in a way that does not exacerbate such disadvantage. The anticipation of these challenges, however, has not reduced our commitment to set ourselves demanding and ambitious targets in terms of the quality, accessibility and timeliness of our service. Monitoring the effective implementation of the outputs and targets set in this Plan will be undertaken through a number of groupings and mechanisms, including:
The Statutory Board
The Board, through its statutory responsibility under the Civil Legal Aid Act, 1995, has the ultimate responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the Corporate Plan. The various Board committees will continue to play an active role in overseeing progress made over the duration of the Plan. The Board itself will consider a formal report on progress which will be presented to it on a twice yearly basis and will also review any changes in the environment, financial or otherwise, which may impact on the capacity of the Board to deliver services of the appropriate quality or timeliness.
The Senior Management Team (SMT)
The SMT will review progress against this Plan on a regular basis and will seek to ensure that resources are appropriately directed to achieve delivery as planned. It will also ensure that the objectives and targets are reflected in the business planning process and that managers and staff engage in a proactive manner not just with the goals and related actions but also with the organisational values adopted by the statutory Board and set out in this Plan.
Staff and Managers
It would be impossible to successfully deliver such a challenging Plan without the very active engagement of all staff in the Board. Staff have already been involved in the Plan’s development and will be particularly involved in its implementation. Use will be made of the various network structures to ensure effective communication with staff and to facilitate meaningful involvement in determining the best means of delivering on the Plan.
Partnership
The Partnership Committee has been involved in developing this Plan and will continue to be involved in monitoring its implementation. A progress report will be considered by the Committee twice yearly as will other emerging strategic issues impacting on the Board on an ongoing basis.
Business Planning Process
All unit and Directorate business plans will be developed in a manner which ensures close alignment with the objectives and targets set out in this Plan. Any relevant changes in the environment in terms of service demands or capacity will be integrated into the Business Plans to ensure that this document remains dynamic and flexible over its timespan.
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