The ERG, which was established by Government in January last year to monitor and guide change, found substantial progress had been made.
Chair of the group Pádraig Ó Ríordáin was previously managing partner at Arthur Cox, and a senior executive with bookmakers Paddy Power.
In the report, Ó Ríordáin says that the “depth and complexity” of the changes led to a redoubling of focus that they will be completed by October 2019.
This is nine months on from the appointment of Ernst & Young as change-management consultants.
Material changes
Mr Ó Ríordáin says the department has made “very material changes” in the fourth quarter of 2018. A ministerial liaison office has been appointed for both criminal justice, civil justice and equality.
Future-focused
Secretary general Aidan O’Driscoll said that the department was now future-focused, and that the shake-up would set the template for the future of the entire civil service, if deemed successful.
A transformation management board and team have also been put in place at the department.
The transformation board includes civil-service leaders from the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, as well as senior personnel from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
Meetings
In addition, there will be face-to-face meetings by managers with department staff in the coming months, as the changes are explained and rolled out.
The department has been realigned with the establishment of a ‘civil justice and equality’ pillar and a ‘criminal justice’ pillar, both supported by a ‘corporate affairs’ unit.
Deputy secretary Oonagh Buckley has been appointed to head the civil justice and equality pillar, while deputy secretary Oonagh McPhillips has been appointed to head the criminal justice pillar.