asked the Minister for the Public Service if he will state in relation to the PSORG report, 1969 (a) the number of officers in his Department deployed mainly on this type of work in 1973, 1977 and 1983 and (b) the progress achieved to date on each civil service Department; and whether he considers, in view of the lack of progress in this area, that the concept should be abandoned and his staff redeployed on other more pressing work.
Written Answers . - PSORG Report .
728.
: (a) The Public Services Organisation Review Group recommended wide-ranging and fundamental changes in the organisation and management of the civil service, including the transfer of central responsibility for the organisation, personnel and remuneration functions from the Department of Finance to a new Department of the Public Service. Because of the wide range of the review group's recommendations, it could be said that all the ongoing work of public service management and control now carried out by the Department of the Public service was touched upon in the report of the review group.
I am assuming, however, that the Deputy is referring to work arising from the specific recommendations in the PSORG report relating to the concept of departmental restructuring on the basis of separation of responsibility for policy and execution and the provision of staff support in the functions of planning, finance, organisation and personnel. Because some of the officers engaged on this work had other responsibilities, it is not possible to give precise figures but the full-time equivalents of officers in my Department engaged on this work on the duties mentioned were approximately: 1973, 3; 1977, 6; 1983, 14.
(b) The structural reform is aimed at securing the clearer identification and separation of policy and executive work, a more rational distribution of functions and the development of specialist staff support units. The Departments of Health and Transport have been reorganised on the basis of those principles.
New structures, derived from a comprehensive analysis of functions, have been agreed with the management and staff representatives in eight Departments: Agriculture; Defence; Education; Environment; Gaeltacht; Trade, Commerce and Tourism; Labour; and Social Welfare. Detailed implementation work is now in progress in those Departments. Proposals have been put to the Department of Fisheries and Forestry without agreement having been reached, while proposals have yet to be put to the Department of Justice. Global reorganisation programmes have not been initiated in the Departments of Industry and Energy (some of whose functions had been studied before their transfer from the then Department of Industry, Commerce and Energy), Posts and Telegraphs, because of the proposed establishment of the two boards, or Foreign Affairs. The Departments of the Taoiseach, Finance, and the Public Service were not intended to be restructured on the same lines because they supply central support to Government.
Most Departments have either established the specialist units for planning, finance, organisation and personnel or have designated the officers who are to head the units.
I strongly disagree with the view that the concepts recommended by the PSORG should be abandoned at this stage. They provide an ideal framework within which measures to secure better management and value for money in the public service — so vital in present circumstances — can be put into effect. I have many such measures under active consideration at present and I intend to press them as a matter of urgency.