The next item on our agenda is the draft report of the committee on the Civil Service code of standards and behaviour of the Department of Finance. We circulated the draft of that report to members today. Do members have any comments on that report as prepared? We are under instructions from the Dáil to report back by next week, having considered the matter. The report in front of us is a fair and reasonable assessment of what we discussed at our meeting. We came out at the end with some recommendations too, believing that certain matters required further consideration.
Civil Service Code of Standards: Draft Report.
The very last sentence in the report says that we hope the Government will do something. Is it in the long-term future or in the immediate future that this will be revised?
I understand that the Government has sought the views of this committee, the unions and the Standards in Public Office Commission. There are therefore several sources making an input. The Government will take it back for finalisation and agreement with the trade unions before it is promulgated through the public service. We were one of three groups asked to make a submission. The final code might be quite similar or might take on board some of our recommendations. It is not our call. We have been asked to give our views and have done so.
I am content with the report, but we should be making recommendations, which may be of a general nature, for example, that there should be consumer redress. It is as important as the recommendations we make. However, I will not labour the point. Some of the comments warrant a recommendation, even though they did not make it to the recommendation list.
We have a list of five recommendations. It was highlighted that there was no reference to redress procedures in the code for public service customers. We will include recommendation 6: that the committee recommends there be redress procedures in the code for public service customers. Is that agreed?
I have no objection to that. It is a fundamental measure which should be available. I wonder if it fits into this context because it is more like a charter of rights for consumers. I do not object to its inclusion but it relates more to the rights of citizens.
There are other mechanisms for dealing with that issue.
It should be included somewhere.
It is right that civil servants should be reminded of this in their own code.
The background to this measure was that the Ombudsman specifically brought to our attention the failure of many civil service bodies to develop a redress mechanism. As this is our first opportunity to see a code of standards and behaviour which does not mention redress, it would be remiss of us not to draw this matter to the attention of those who framed the proposals. Very high up in the list in relation to the standards of behaviour is consumers. It is not just about politeness, it is about citizens' rights. If Senator O'Toole is willing to let the matter go, I would like to see it included in the list of recommendations.
I could take it a little further. A proposal in the Civil Service code of standards and behaviour that they have a responsibility to ensure people receive redress in the appropriate cases fits in quite well. If someone has been treated incorrectly, the civil servant, or whoever, should have a responsibility to ensure appropriate restitution is made.
In terms of the recommendation, would it strengthen it to modify what the Chairman is proposing by saying the committee referred to the proposals by the Ombudsman?
It was a critique by the Ombudsman. He criticised the failures. I am happy with Senator O'Toole's formulation, that is, that we couch redress for consumers as being an important responsibility within the code of conduct. We should ensure there are strong mechanisms in place to deliver these standards.
That paragraph will be inserted and we will now conclude.
The joint committee went into private session and adjourned at 3.58 p.m. until 2 July 2003.