Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has asked fellow ministers to take personal responsibility for ensuring that new controls are introduced to prevent overspending controversies, such as the PPARS controversy, occurring in their departments.
In January his department also wrote to each department outlining the changes in practice needed to implement a range of "value for money" measures, announced by Mr Cowen in October in the wake of the PPARS computer controversy.
The January letter was followed up with a letter from Mr Cowen to each of his Government colleagues, informing them of the changes, which relate to how major building and computer projects are monitored and controlled.
"I would ask you to take a personal interest in ensuring that all of these requirements in regard to the achievement of value for money are implemented by your Department and its agencies," he said in his letter.
"I would also ask you to confirm to me as soon as possible that arrangements have been put in place to ensure compliance with these requirements."
The changes stipulate that all future construction projects will be on a fixed contract basis and departments have been told that there will now be standardised contracts across all Government departments and agencies.
Project managers for major construction and information technology projects are to be appointed and these must be at a senior level within a department or agency, the new advice states.
These managers will assume "personal responsibility" for monitoring the projects.
All contracts worth €30 million or more will require a cost benefit analysis, include strict performance criteria and must be subject to ongoing progress reports.
"Spot checks" by officials not involved with large capital and computer projects should also be carried out.
A "performance" table of major projects has to be included in the annual reports of Government departments and State agencies, including any cost and time overruns that have occurred.
The extension of any contracts costing €250,000 or more cannot be done without having a new tender process.
Meanwhile, the suspension of the roll-out of the controversial PPARS computerised payroll system for the health services will continue for the immediate future. The implementation of the PPARS programme, as well as a sister computerised financial system called FISP, have been suspended on the instruction of the board of the Health Service Executive since last autumn pending a full review of the projects.
A spokeswoman for the Health Service Executive said last night that the issue of the review was not on the agenda of today's board meeting.
Chief executive of the HSE Prof Brendan Drumm told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee in January that the review group report was expected in February.
However, a spokeswoman for the HSE said last night that work on the report was still ongoing. The current suspension of the further roll-out of the projects will continue in the interim.
To date the State has spent €131 million on the PPARS project, including €57 million paid to external consultants. The computerised system is in operation in three health service regions and in St James's Hospital in Dublin.