Bertie Ahern
Question:3 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach the results of the Strategic Management Initiative to date. [9216/97]
Ceisteanna — Questions. - Strategic Management Initiative.
The Strategic Management Initiative is the overall framework for change in the Irish Civil Service. It includes a number of interrelated elements on which parallel action is being taken. This detailed programme of action is set out in Delivering Better Government, published in May 1996.
Among the significant milestones in the process are the following: the preparation and publication of statements of strategy for Departments and offices, setting out their key goals and objectives and the strategies to achieve them; business plans to give effect to the statements at divisional and individual level are now being prepared; multi-annual budgeting has been introduced and new models of financial management systems are being developed; on the legislation front, progress has been achieved with the passing of the Freedom of Information Act, the publication of the Public Service Management Bill on 6 March last and its completion of Committee Stage in the Seanad today, while the Privilege and Compellability of Witnesses Bill is today at Report Stage in this House; a Civil Service wide quality customer service initiative, based on the principles set out in Delivering Better Government is being finalised at present; and a performance management system is being designed and developed, with the assistance of external consultants, the design of which will be completed by end 1997, to be followed by its immediate implementation. As provided for in pages 78 to 80 of Delivering Better Government new institutional mechanisms have been put in place in the form of the overall co-ordinating group comprising representatives from the public and private sectors and from the trade unions; working groups, both management and front-line, on quality customer service, human resource management, financial management, open and transparent service delivery, regulatory reform and information technology; and regular meetings of secretaries and heads of offices.
The working groups have submitted interim reports, which will form the basis of a comprehensive programme for future action in Departments and offices, which is currently being prepared for early submission to Government. Specific examples of the proposals developed by the groups in terms of progress include recommendations covering recruitment and management of staff prepared by the working group on human resources management which will be submitted to Government shortly.
The quality customer service initiative will be launched shortly and will be based on principles developed by the quality customer service working group for the delivery of quality service.
The process of public service change is long-term and strategic in nature. The above actions represent solid progress. This will be further helped by the implementation of the partnership approach to change, outlined in chapter 10 of Partnership 2000. I am confident that the pace and depth of the change process will develop even more momentum during 1997, building on the achievements to date.
Will the Minister give concrete examples of any area where efficiencies have been achieved to date as a result of the Strategic Management Initiative?
The Deputy asked this question before and I answered it at length some weeks ago. I outlined milestones in implementing the Strategic Management Initiative on delivering better Government. There has been much progress in the preparation of statements of strategy and the task of getting Departments and offices to set out their key goals and objectives and the strategic to achieve them has created efficiencies right through the different levels of the service. Much progress has been made on the financial side on multi-annual budgeting and accrual accounting. The Deputy has asked questions on that in this House before.
Under the quality customer service initiative many programmes of efficiency are in place and I will not tie myself to a date as the Deputy may say at a future date that I have not adhered to it, but in early May I expect to be back here setting out details of that initiative. The way the service is delivered is more effective and efficient and thereby more cost effective.
The Deputy knows better than I do the purpose of the Strategic Management Initiative on delivering better Government. It is about providing excellent services across Departments and acting on the internal management systems that will put those in place. Much progress has been made. I cannot name a section of a Department and say that £X thousand has been saved in an area. There will not be a great deal of saving in resources in the overall public sector bill, but there will be redeployment of existing resources to areas which need increased resources. That is what the initiative is about. Some areas which are efficient and effective will need less person power to implement the initiative. In other areas where we need increased or new specialities, such as on the European front, Northern Ireland, the security area or other areas such as information technology where there are increased demands for new services, we will have to redeploy resources to get an effective and efficient service.
The Deputy is well aware of the timescale involved. I am not in a position to pick a Department and say that £X thousand or £X million have been saved in the delivery of a service. I outlined carefully in my reply areas of great strategic progress. The Deputy will be aware that getting a Civil Service as large as ours to implement these changes, which involve a change of culture, and to do this in full consultation with all involved takes time. It is being done strategically. It may not be moving fast enough but I am assured progress is being made as quickly as is possible.
Does the Minister of State agree there has been a distancing between the public servant and the citizen? She referred to the Freedom of Information Bill introduced by her colleague in the Labour Party. Is she aware the Minister of State, Deputy Fitzgerald, has put the onus on the citizen to seek clarification rather than putting it on the authorities? That does not lead to proper streamlining of management between the public and the public service. Fianna Fáil put down an amendment which put the onus on the Minister or the local authority to state why such a matter should be secret but the Minister turned it around and put the onus back on the citizen to pursue it. That has not been taken into account in the strategic management initiative. The purpose of the SMI report is to clarify the rights of the public and the public service so that each knows where it stands.
I am not in a position to go into detail on the Freedom of Information Bill. That is a separate, specific question, although it merits an answer. I was not involved with the passage of that Bill through the House; Deputy Fitzgerald was and I have no doubt she would not object to answering specific questions on it.
I do not accept that Delivering Better Government or the SMI have put distance between the citizen and the public service. Our focus in Delivering Better Government on a quality customer service is such that it will make front line delivery of all public services much more customer and user friendly. A great deal of work and resources have still to be invested in the physical surroundings in which the public deals with the public service. There has been a tremendous programme of capital investment in social welfare offices, for example. Much remains to be done and it will take at least another two years before circumstances will be such that recipients of public services will be able to deal with the front line service provider in surroundings they deserve. I do not accept there has been distancing of the citizen from the public service in regard to anything the Government has done.
Since the SMI is about the management of the Government's performance and that of the public services, is it reasonable to expect that it be measured? Previous management arrangements consisted of administrative budgeting in which a 2 per cent target was set for each year. Has any target been set for the SMI?
Performance management.
Does this involve new job descriptions related to the SMI proposals?
In my substantive reply to Deputy Ahern's question, I pointed out that a performance management system is being designed and developed and in recent weeks consultants have been appointed to work with the co-ordinating and human resource management working groups in this endeavour. The design of the system will be completed by the end of this year and will be implemented immediately. There is specific reference to that process in Delivering Better Government, the document published last May. We have assessed the working groups' deliberations and their report to the co-ordinating group on the performance management system. On its recommendation, performance management specialists are being brought in to ensure performance management systems are tailored to work in various State agencies. One management system could not be applied generically throughout the civil or public service because different types of services are being measured. We must tailor the performance measurement system to the type of service being provided. It will involve rewarding excellence, indicating areas where performance is below par and dealing specifically with under-performance.
Rewarding excellence involves measurement. Is it planned to have new job descriptions? Has a target been set?
Yes.
How much improvement is expected? Is there an internal measurement system for rewarding excellence? There must be a measurement system.
I would be pre-empting the outcome of the work of the consultant and the human resource working group if I were to state that an improvement will be measured in percentage terms. That will be known when we know the performance management system they will put in place. I am not sure if that is one of the criteria they will recommend but they will consider it.
On the question of redefining job descriptions, statements of strategy have been presented by most Departments and offices. Four are outstanding but will be presented within the next week or two. They set the key goals, objectives and strategies of the services which each Department and State must provide. The teams that provide those services will, under the Public Service Management (No. 2) Bill, 1997, which moves responsibility for operational and day to day work from the Minister to heads of section and senior management, clearly know what they have to do and who is responsible for delivering services or aspects of services. Team and individual performance will then be measured in terms of service delivery. This will be included in the report of the consultants and the working group and will be in place at the end of this year.