Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 16 Oct 1996

Vol. 470 No. 2

Written Answers. - Delivering Better Government.

Bertie Ahern

Question:

38 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach the progress, if any, which has been made in the implementation of the second report of the co-ordinating group of secretaries entitled Delivering Better Government - A Programme of Change for the Irish Civil Service. [18641/96]

The Taoiseach

Delivering Better Government — A Programme of Change for the Irish Civil Service— was launched on 2 May 1996. The central focus of the programme is the provision of excellent quality services to all customers of the Civil Service. This comprehensive report sets out the vision for the Civil Service of the future and provides a clear framework within which consistent and ongoing progress can be achieved.

Work has commenced on implementing the recommendations of Delivering Better Government. A new co-ordinating group has been set up to oversee the implementation of the report. The terms of reference of this co-ordinating group are as follows: (i) to oversee the implementation of the Government's programme for change in the Civil Service; (ii) to validate reviews of particular programmes as requested by Government and, (iii) to report regularly to Government on progress.

Membership of the co-ordinating group is drawn from both the public and private sectors. The group has already met on two occassions and will be presenting its first interim report to Government early next month.

In addition, a number of working groups, whose membership is also drawn from both the public and private sectors, have also been established to address the following key areas identified in Delivering Better Government: quality customer service; human resource management; financial management; open and transparent service delivery; regulatory reform and Information Technology and Systems. Three front-line groups, which are cross-departmental and cross-grade, have been established in the following areas: quality customer service, training and development, information technology.

The working groups and front-line groups will work together to address the issues involved in implementing Delivering Better Government and to develop the detailed programme of action. Meetings commenced in September and the working groups have set the end of October as an interim deadline for the presentation to the co-ordinating group of initial proposals for implementation of Delivering Better Government.

I am circulating in the Official Report details of the terms of reference and membership of all the working and front-line groups. Nominations have now been obtained from Government Departments for a cross-departmental team to support the overall strategic management process in both the development and implementation of programmes of action. It will also assist Departments with extending the process to the wider public service by the end of the year. This team will be put in place immediately.

Proposals for the reform of the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924, have been incorporated into the Public Service Management (No. 1) Bill, 1996, which has been considered by Government and has now been sent for drafting on a priority basis.

A key element of the response to Delivering Better Government is the publication, by all Government Departments and agencies, of statements of strategy before the end of this year. I am circulating with this reply a list of those Departments and agencies which have already published such statements and the schedule for publication of the remaining documents.

In addition to the above, a wide range of initiatives are being undertaken at local level within Departments and offices throughout the Civil Service. To date these have focused on the themes of communication, consultation and participation. A newsletter containing details of these initiatives will be circulated to all staff later this month as part of the continuing commitment to keeping staff informed of SMI related developments.

Finally, I propose to continue to consult with Opposition leaders on the detailed progress of Delivering Better Government as the programme is implemented throughout the public service.

Target Date for Publication of Strategy Statements.

Department-Office	Date
Agriculture, Food and Forestry	Statement completed and circulated to staff. Published in July 1996.
Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht	November 1996
Attorney General	End-November 1996
Central Statistics Office	Corporate Plan issued in December 1994. Being updated at present.
Chief State Solicitor	End-November (included in Attorney General's Office Statement) 1996.
Civil Service Commission	End-November 1996
Comptroller and Auditor General	End-October 1996
Defence	October 1996
Director of Public Prosecutions	*
Education	To be arranged following consultation
Enterprise and Employment	Strategy Documents published during 1996
Environment	Published on 22 March 1996
Equality and Law Reform	December 1996
Finance	Final Quarter of Year
Foreign Affairs	Under discussion
Health	To be arranged following consultation
Justice	September 1996
Land Registry	September 1996
Marine	November 1996
Office of Public Works	End-October 1996
Houses of the Oireachtas	End-1996
Ombudsman	December 1996
Ordnance Survey	End-November 1996
Revenue Commissioners	Corporate Plan (1994-1996) launched on 28 July 1994. The new Corporate Plan (1997-1999) to be published in October 1996
Social Welfare	Published 27 May 1996
Tánaiste	September 1996
Taoiseach	October 1996
Tourism and Trade	Mid-November
Transport, Energy and Communications	December 1996
State Laboratory	End-1996
Valuations Office	End-November 1996

*Outstanding.

Working Groups

Strategic Management Initiative

(I) Quality Customer Service

Terms of Reference:

(a) To develop a Quality Service framework for the Civil Service, based on the principles set out inDelivering Better Government and

(b) To oversee and facilitate the adoption and implementation of a Quality Service Improvement Programme, within this framework, by each Department and Office.

Membership:

Civil Service (1+12)

1. Cathal Mac Domhnail, Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners (Chair)

2. Sean Alyward, Principal Officer, Department of Justice

3. Kevin Cullen, Principal Officer, Department of Environment

4. Eric Embleton, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance

5. Marie Kerrigan, Principal Officer, Department of Agriculture

6. John Lawton, Counsellor, Department of Foreign Affairs

7. Margo Monaghan, Principal Officer, Department of Enterprise and Employment

8. Brian Murphy, Chairman, Commissioners of Public Works

9. James Rogers, Commissioner of Valuation, Valuation Office

10. Frances Spillane, Principal Officer, Department of Health

11. Frances Stephenson, Office of Minister of State Avril Doyle

12. Eddie Sullivan, Director, Social Welfare Services Office, Department of Social Welfare

13. John Browne, Principal Officer, Department of Transport, Energy and Communications

Non-Civil Service (5)

1. Roger Acton, Chief Executive Disability Federation

2. Caroline Gill, Consumers Association

3. Aine Mizzoni, Operations Director, Sedgwick Dineen International Ltd.

4. Mary Murphy, Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed

5. Senator Fergal Quinn

Front-line Group on Quality Customer Service

Terms of Reference

(a) to identify the key issues and challenges arising in the front-line delivery of services and

(b) to contribute to the development of the Quality Service framework across Departments.

Membership (24)

1 Chair — Cathal Mac Domhnaill, Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners

	Name	Office	Grade	Location
2	John Browne	Agriculture, Food and Forestry	Supervisory Agricultural Officer	Dublin
3	Séamus Burke	Ombudsman	EO	Dublin
4	Gerry Byrne	Social Welfare	Local Office Manager	Dublin
5	William Cruise	Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht	Attendant, National Museum	Dublin
6	Séamus Connolly	Valuation Office	District Valuer	Dublin
7	John Cremins	Collector General	CA	Limerick
8	Gerry Dolan	Land Registry	Examiner of Maps	Dublin
9	Bernard Farrell	Ordnance Survey	Superintendant	Dublin
10	Deirdre Fearon	Enterprise and Employment	SO	Dublin
11	Caroline Harte	Passport Office	CO	Cork
12	Margaret Kelly	Education	AP	Dublin
13	May Maguire	Land Registry	HEO	Dublin
14	Pat Mulvey	Finance	Services Officer	Dublin
15	Adrian O'Donovan	Health	AO	Dublin
16	Dick O'Driscoll	CSO	AP	Cork
17	Colette O'Flaherty	Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht	Assistant Keeper National Library	Dublin
18	Grace O'Malley	Education	EO	Tullamore
19	Rose O'Reilly	Revenue	Inspector of Taxes	Dublin
20	Bernie O'Shea	D/Taoiseach	Telephonist	Dublin
21	Áine Ní Gallachóir	Agriculture, Food and Forestry	EO	Galway
22	Geraldine Tanham	Social Welfare	Clerical Officer	Dublin
23	Barbara Toneycliff	Department of Justice	Clerical Assistant	Dublin
24	Monica Wallace	TEC	EO	Dublin

(II) The Human Resource Management Group

Terms of Reference:

To develop and oversee implementation of the framework proposals of Human Resource Management set out inDelivering Better Government.

Membership:

Civil Service (1+13)

1. John Hurley, Secretary (PSMD) Department of Finance (Chair)

2. Joe Boyle, Civil Service Commission

3. Anna Doughan, Principal Officer, Department of Education,

4. Josephine Feehily, Assistant Secretary, Revenue Commissioners

5. Séamus Feely, Principal Officer, Tánaiste's Office

6. John Gillespie, Assistant Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry

7. Michael Kelly, Assistant Secretary, Department of Health

8. Alice O'Flynn, Principal Officer, Department of Social Welfare

9. Brendan O'Donoghue, Secretary, Department of Environment

10. Tom Power, Assistant Principal, Department of Health

11. Paddy Teahon, Secretary, Department of the Taoiseach

12. Brendan Tuohy, Assistant Secretary, Department of Transport, Energy and Communications

13. Mary Whelan, Assistant Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs

14. Department of Finance official, as appropriate to the issue under discussion

Non-Civil Service (4)

1. Mary Darlington, Personal and Safety Manager, Bausch and Lomb

2. Kevin Heffernan, former chairman of the Labour Court

3. Michael McLoone, Donegal County Manager

4. Maura McGrath, Personal Manager, Bank of Ireland Front-line Group on Training and Development

Terms of Reference

In respect of present and future training and development needs for the Civil Service and particularly for front-line staff:

(a) to identify the key issues and areas of action and

(b) to contribute to the development of the Human Resource strategy for the Civil Service.

Membership (22)

1 Chair — John Hurley

	Name	Office	Grade	Location
2	Maura Begley	Marine	CO	Dublin
3	Hugh Bradley	Revenue	Services Officer	Dublin
4	Linda Carroll	Social Welfare	CA	Dublin
5	Patricia Coleman	Finance	AP	Dublin
6	Pamela Conroy	Trade and Tourism	CO	Dublin
7	Ann Costello	Environment	HEO	Dublin
8	Gaye Dalton	Enterprise and Employment	CO	Dublin
9	Mary Donnellan	Defence	AP	Dublin
10	Marie Hogarty	Agriculture, Food and Forestry	CO	Dublin
11	Alice Kearney	Taoiseach	SO	Dublin
12	Pat Moriarty	Justice	HEO	Dublin
13	Ciarán Murphy	Land Registry	Examiner of Maps	Dublin
14	Willie McIntosh	OPW	HEO	Dublin
15	Michelle McMahon	Civil Service Commission	EO	Dublin
16	Frank O'Brien	Justice	Probation and Welfare Officer	Dundalk
17	Ciarán O'Cronin	Attorney General's Office	AP	Dublin
18	Denis O'Neill	Education	CA	Athlone
19	David Stokes	CSO	CO	Dublin
20	Tom Ward	TEC	HEO	Dublin
21	Pat Wylie	Equality and Law Reform	AP	Dublin

(III) Financial Management Group

Terms of Reference:

To develop and implement the framework proposals set out inDelivering Better Government in relation to improved financial management including multi-annual budgeting, delegation of financial authority, administrative budgets and accrual accounting.

Membership:

Civil Service (1+12)

1. Paddy Mullarkey, Secretary, Department of Finance (Chair)

2. Marian Byrne, Principal Officer, Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry

3. Des Coppins, Assistant Principal, Department of the Environment

4. Margaret Hennessy, Assistant Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs

5. John Loughrey, Secretary, Department of Transport, Energy and Communications

6. Joe Meade, Secretary and Director of Audit, Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General

7. Dermot McCarthy, Assistant Secretary, Department of the Taoiseach

8. Eddie McCumiskey, Secretary, Department of Social Welfare

9. Bridget McManus, Principal Officer, Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht

10. Jerry O'Dwyer, Secretary, Department of Health

11. Niamh O'Donoghue, Principal Officer, Civil Service Commission

12. Sara White, Assistant Secretary, Department of the Marine

13. Finance Official to attend depending on issue being dealt with

Non-Civil Service (5)

1. Mary Broughan, ex-chair, Irish Pensions Board

2. Sean Dorgan, Chief Executive, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland

3. Dermot Hegarty, Griffith College (working with D/TEC on Accruals Accounting)

4. Noreen Hynes, former President, Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants.

(IV) Working Group on Open and Transparent Service Delivery

Terms of Reference:

To co-ordinate and guide the legal, parliamentary and administrative initiatives under way to achieve openness and transparency in the conduct of public business, consistent with the public interest;

To identify and make recommendations on the administrative changes necessary to ensure that legislative measures currently in train (e.g. FOI, P&C, Ombudsman), are promptly adopted by Departments and public bodies.

Membership:

Civil Service (1+10)

1. Frank Murray, Secretary to the Government (Chair)

2. Dr. Ruth Barrington, Director, Department of Health

3. Tim Dalton, Secretary, Department of Justice

4. Vera Dervan, Principal Officer, Department of Social Welfare

5. Anne Doyle, Assistant Principal, Department of Equality and Law Reform

6. Colm Gallagher, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance

7. Jim Hamilton, Attorney General's Office

8. Tadgh O'hEalaithe, Secretary, Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht

9. Julie O'Neill, Office of the Tánaiste

10. John Neary, Principal Officer, Department of Foreign Affairs

11. Pat Whelan, Director of the Ombudsman's Office

Client Perspectives (5)

1. Ellen Hazelcorn, Director of Applied Arts, Dublin Institute of Technology

2. Leonie Lunny, Director, NSSB

3. Mark Mortell, Head of Marketing, Lifetime Assurance Company

4. Olivia O'Leary, Journalist

5. Pat Montague, Montague Communications

(V) Regulatory Reform Working Group

Terms of Reference:

To review the current approach to and quantity of Government regulation and make recommendations on a programme of regulatory reform so as to simplify the regulatory process, reduce the burden of regulation, improve the quality of regulation and to provide for five yearly reviews of regulations.

To review the need for and make recommendations on a programme of consolidation of existing legislation so as to ensure a more accessible and fully up-to-date body of legislation.

Membership:

Civil Service (1+13)

1. Kevin Bonner, Secretary, Enterprise and Employment (Chair)

2. Tom Carroll, Secretary, Department of the Marine

3. Padraig Cullinane, Principal Officer, Department of Enterprise and Employment

4. David Doyle, Assistant Secretary, Finance

5. Finola Flanagan, Office of the Attorney General

6. Margaret Hayes, Secretary, Department of Tourism and Trade

7. Liam Hennessy, Assistant Secretary, Revenue Commissioners

8. Wally Kirwan, Assistant Secretary, Department of the Taoiseach

9. Bernadette Lacey, Principal Officer, Department of Social Welfare

10. Mary McCullagh, Assistant Principal, Department of Transport, Energy and Communications

11. Bernard McDonagh, Secretary, Equality and Law Reform

12. Paddy McKernan, Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs

13. Mary Moylan, Principal Officer, Department of the Environment

14. Michael Buckley, Chief State Solicitor

Non-Civil Service (5)

1. Aisling Doyle, BCL, Steven McKenzie and Co. Solicitors

2. Dr. Robert Clark, Professor of Law, UCD

3. Colum Mac Donnell, Chief Executive, Irish Exporters Association

4. Paul Skehan, Director, Chambers of Commerce of Ireland

5. Andrew Whitaker, Competition Press

(VI) IT Working Group

Terms of Reference

To review the current and potential uses of information technology (IT) in the Civil Service and to make recommendations for its more effective application so as to:

—ensure that the use of IT is driven by business needs and priorities in line with SMI strategy statements;

—maximise the benefits to be achieved from the use of it to deliver services, manage resources, including information, and streamline work processes and reporting arrangements; and

—ensure that in applying IT its potential to enable needed changes to be effected in work processes, reporting arrangements and organisational structures is fully exploited.

To review the implications and benefits of the emerging "Information Society" for the Civil Service and to make recommendations on the role of the Civil Service and the actions required in light of that role.

Membership:

Civil Service (1+11)

1. David O'Callaghan, Secretary, Defence (Chair)

2. Noel Doyle, Assistant Principal (1), Revenue Commissioners

3. Eric Embleton, Assistant Secretary, Finance

4. Martin Higgins, Principal Officer, Department of Health

5. Eileen Kehoe, Principal Officer, Department of the Taoiseach

6. Ann McGuinness, Principal Officer, Department of the Environment

7. Donal Murphy, Director General, CSO

8. Aidan O'Driscoll, Principal Officer, Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry

9. Pat O'Grady, Principal Officer, Civil Service Commission

10. Dermot Quigley, Revenue Commissioner

11. Oliver Ryan, Director, Department of Social Welfare

12. Catherine Treacy, Registrar, Land Registry

13. Don Thornhill, Secretary, Department of Education

Non-Civil Service (5)

1. Una O'Brien, National Instruments

2. Loretta Brannigan, Bank of Ireland

3. Billy Glennon, Vision Computing

4. Frank Murphy, Superquinn

5. Mike O'Farrell, Kodak Ireland Ltd.

Front-line Group on Information Technology

Terms of Reference

(a) identify the key issues and challenges arising in the use of Information Technology the front-line delivery of services and

(b) to contribute to the detailed proposals for the development of the IT usage across the Civil Service.

Membership (21)

1 Chair — David O'Callaghan, Secretary, Department of Defence

	Name	Office	Grade	Location
2	Betty Martin	Foreign Affairs — Passport Office	CA	Dublin
3	Mark Brady	C & AG	Auditor	Dublin
4	Michael Carrick	Health	CO	Dublin
5	Maura Conneely	Finance	AO	Dublin
6	Eamon Cusack	Tánaiste's Office	SO	Dublin
7	Patricia Doran	Oireachtas	HEO	Dublin
8	Donal Fallon	Met Office	Senior Met Officer	Dublin
9	Sean Fay	Department of Social Welfare	AP	Dublin
10	Ursula Forde	Revenue	HEO	Dublin
11	Alan King	Agriculture	EO	Dublin
12	Breda Ingle	DPP	CO	Dublin
13	John McMahon	Taoiseach	Services Officer	Dublin
14	Conor Murphy	State Lab	Senior Chemist	Dublin
15	Jeannette Nolan	Social Welfare	CO	Dublin
16	Rosanna Nolan	OPW	Engineer, Grade II	Dublin
17	Sean McConmara	Education	Primary Inspector	Dublin
18	Frank McDermott	Justice	HEO	Dublin
19	Angela McGready	CSSO	EO	Dublin
20	Margaret Oliver/Teresa Sydenham	Defence	SO/HEO	Dublin
21	Seamus Walsh	Met Office	Meteorologist	Dublin