Cowen plans major reform of public service

THE TAOISEACH has signalled major reform of the public service.

Brian Cowen told the Dáil yesterday that reform could accelerate in periods of crisis, when issues that could previously be ignored had to be faced.

“We are in such a time. We are not in a position to continue to pay for the public service to operate in an unchanged manner with an unchanged division of labour across an unchanged labour force,” the Taoiseach said.

Mr Cowen said during the resumed Budget debate that there was much that was good and positive and world-class about the Irish public service, which was evident from the OECD report (the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development) published last year.

“But equally, there are aspects of how we organise and deliver public services which fall short of the best practice of which our own system is capable, never mind international standards,” he added.

“We don’t have the full flexibilities associated with a modern, high-productivity, technologically-enabled service economy.”

All too often, he added, they saw examples of traditional work practices, staffing levels and management systems which failed to meet the diverse needs of citizens and which frustrated the creativity and innovative capacity of public servants.

In many cases, he said, this was a failure of organisational capacity, both on the part of management and on the part of the trade unions and other employee representative structures.

“A gradual approach to reform and renewal can be effective, in the public service as elsewhere, but when we are faced with a full-blown national crisis, where the business-as-usual model is no longer affordable or sustainable, then we must adopt a different approach.”

That did not need to be based, the Taoiseach added, on a top-down approach which ignored the views of staff and their practical experience.

“Still less need it be based on conflict between the Government and public service unions.

“On the contrary, I believe that the reality of the crisis we face as a society is particularly evident to public servants who are dealing at first-hand with the consequences – personal, social and economic – of our current difficulties,” he continued.

The Taoiseach said he knew that public servants resented deeply the unfair criticisms and occasional ideological bias which were expressed against them.