Public sector reform 'absolutely imperative', says Cowen

It is “absolutely imperative” that the public service produces “maximum performance” amid the worsening economic situation in Ireland, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said today.

Speaking as the Government announced wide-ranging reform of the public service, Mr Cowen said “fundamental change and transformation” was required. The Government plan includes redeployment, redundancies and a value-for-money audit.

Mr Cowen said the clear message from a report by a Government task force and a report of the pilot phase of the review of Government Departments was that there is a “need to move quickly and decisively”. The task force was formed to make recommendations on the implementation of an earlier OECD study of Irish public services.

“The objective of the Government is to secure greater efficiency in delivering public services in an affordable way – while at the same time improving the work environment for public service workers,” Mr Cowen said.

He said the reforms would lead to a public service that will deliver the highest standards of efficiency, will consistently achieve value-for-money, and will put the citizen at the centre of everything it does.

“Public service reform is not a criticism of public servants. We are fortunate in this country to have a fine tradition of dedicated public servants who apply their skills diligently and impartially across the range of public services,” Mr Cowen added.

But he said there was a need to consider whether there are some critical sectors of the public service which are under-staffed and others of lesser priority are over-staffed.

An immediate external review of public service numbers will be carried out to advise of reductions in the numbers employed in areas which are no longer essential. This will lead to redeployment or redundancy, Mr Cowen said.

Under the plan all public bodies will be required to adopt a “shared services approach” to key support functions, such as payroll, finance, human resources and IT. A new programme of value-for-money-reviews will also be introduced.

A new Cabinet Committee, which Mr Cowen personally chair, will oversee the process of public service reform. The other members of this Committee will be the Ministers for Finance, Health, Education, and Environment.