Sir, – In recent days you have carried two reports focusing on decision-making and pay in the public sector. It is important to emphasise the true position in regard to the civil service’s role and remit in these two areas.
First, the major public-spending projects listed in Carl O’Brien’s report (Home News, March 5th) that did not, or are yet to, proceed are all political projects, sanctioned and pursued by individual members of the Cabinet over the past 15 years. The very thought that civil servants would devise, determine, and decide on projects of this scale without the clear guidance of a Minister shows an ignorance of the manner in which decision-making in our public administration operates. To pretend otherwise and to blame the civil service for these plans as some of the commentators in the article do, is simply to have another ideological pop at the public service from those whose agendas it suits to do so.
Second, the headline on Dan O’Brien’s piece (Finance, March 3rd) to the effect that according to latest data public service workers are paid double those in the private sector is erroneous and is undermined by the facts contained in his report.
Crude comparisons between public and private sector salaries are not comparing like-with-like and are therefore irrelevant. Average public sector pay will always come out ahead of the private sector due to the skilled, highly professional nature of the work involved and the qualifications that are required to perform it. Rarely, however, is this part of the argument incorporated into such discussions. – Yours, etc,