asked the Taoiseach if he is aware that the Civil Service is so bound by regulations that its functions have developed along lines whose aims are to secure its own prestige rather than the needs of the people; and, if so, whether he will consider the reorganisation of the service so as to render it conformable to national sentiments and requirements and to abolish the system of procedure known as red tape; furthermore, if he will indicate whether and to what extent Ministers are free to exercise their authority over the Civil Service, and also, whether the correspondence which is issued from Government Departments on the direction of Ministers is examined by those Ministers or delegated to the discretion of a civil servant.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers - The Civil Service.
While it is true that there has, in recent years, been a tendency to vest in the Civil Service or Ministers powers and functions of such a wide character as to give rise to uneasiness as to the overgrowth of bureaucracy I do not agree that "the Civil Service is so bound by regulations that its functions have developed along lines whose aims are to secure its own prestige rather than the needs of the people." I think it is due to the personnel of the Civil Service that I should record that my experience is that the service is composed of men and women of a high standard of ability and integrity, who seek conscientiously to serve the State in accordance with the policy of whatever Government may be in office.
The Deputy is, no doubt, aware that a Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Service was set up in 1932 and reported in 1935. Their terms of reference required them to report on, among other things, "the organisation of the Civil Service with special reference to the arrangements for ensuring efficiency in working." The Chairman of the Commission was Mr. Joseph Brennan, who at that time was the Chairman of the Currency Commission and who is now the Governor of the Central Bank. The other members, also, were men and women who were eminent in their knowledge and experience of the varied problems affecting the country. Here is an extract from the majority report:—
"We should have welcomed evidence from unofficial persons or bodies, especially those that could speak for any considerable economic interests in the country, but although we took steps by newspaper advertisement and otherwise to indicate our readiness to hear anyone who might desire to tender evidence we received no application for this purpose from any quarter outside the Civil Service."
The Commission returned to this point later in their report, saying: "We have been offered no evidence from business circles or from any other section of the general community that they have experienced any practical need for reorganisation of the Civil Service."
The expression red tape is, I think, applied to the observance by civil servants of formal rules of procedure and to the care with which they examine the various matters that come before them in the course of their duties. While there may be some foundation for the suggestion that, in some instances, there is excessive formality and undue caution, nevertheless it will probably be agreed that the necessity for safeguarding public moneys and the general public interest require a considerable measure of formality and caution. The system of parliamentary democracy is based on the principle that Ministers must be ready to answer in the Dáil, in full detail, for their actions and the actions taken under their authority. To enable them to do so, their civil servants must keep full and accurate records and must do their utmost to foresee the consequences of decisions about to be taken. To abolish these necessary precautions and checks might result in abuse and, perhaps, grave financial loss, and also would mean that Ministers would be largely deprived of the power of explaining and defending their actions in the Dáil, and that Deputies could no longer effectively discharge their functions of criticism or exercise their rights to obtain information and explanations of Ministerial actions. If, however, it should appear at any stage that the methods of working in the Civil Service can be improved, the matter will be considered by the Government and any necessary measures of reorganisation will be carried out. The Deputy can be assured that neither Civil Service regulations nor formalities will prevent the policy of the Government being completely and expeditiously carried out.
As regards the third part of the Deputy's question, the Constitution provides that the Government shall be collectively responsible for the Departments of State administered by the members of the Government. Subject to this collective responsibility, each Minister is the sole authority in the Department assigned to him, save to the extent that specific functions are allocated by law to persons in his Department. He is, therefore, not only free to exercise his authority over the civil servants in his Department, but is obliged to exercise it. He cannot delegate his authority unless specifically authorised by law to do so.
Correspondence issued from Departments on the direction of Ministers is either examined personally by the Minister concerned before issue or framed on the basis of his general directions.
If the Deputy has any specific ground for complaint in regard to the Civil Service, and lets me know the particulars, I will, of course, have the matter examined.