Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 November 2012
104. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which his Department can oversee and address any impact of staff reductions on the quality and delivery of service in key areas of the public sector with particular reference to the health services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51910/12]
View answerIreland is committed under the EU-IMF programme to reducing the overall size of the public service. This is also a key element of the Programme for Government. Delivering this reduction will require continued implementation of the moratorium on recruitment with exceptions being limited to only essential posts and the utilisation of redeployment as the primary mechanism to fill posts which have been approved. In order to protect frontline services, such as Health, the Government is committed to making fundamental changes to the way the public service operates. This will inevitably mean changes in the way in which services to the public are delivered.
The Government is committed to reducing public service numbers to 282,500 by the end of 2014 as part of its Reform Agenda. The overriding objective is to have a more customer focused, leaner, more efficient and better integrated public service which delivers maximum value for money.
It should be noted that significant progress is being made in reducing the numbers employed in the Public Service. The numbers working in the public service have continued to fall, with the provisional outturn for Quarter 3 2012 now standing at some 291,000, which means that we are now close to the 2005 staffing levels.
Strategic Workforce Planning Groups in each sector will continue to ensure that sectoral employers develop plans to deal on an ongoing basis with the operational and strategic consequences arising from the reductions in public service staffing numbers as well as changes in business environments.
Of course, such a reduction in public service numbers will pose challenges. It will require a refocus on business processes and adjustments to the way all public bodies, including the Health Sector, use available resources. It will also require changes to the way individual public servants go about their daily work and greater flexibility in the way services are provided, for example with greater use of technology and shared services.
The Government is committed to making fundamental changes to the way the public service operates to safeguard the delivery of essential services in a way that is in keeping with the needs of a modern society while driving value for money for the citizen.
The moratorium on recruitment in the public service will continue with certain limited exceptions for example in relation to some frontline posts, or statutory positions, etc. where a sufficiently strong business case is made. In the Health and Education sectors in particular special arrangements are in place for exemptions to the moratorium on recruitment for specified grades or positions. However, I wish to make clear that it is part of the day to day function of the Boards and Management of all public bodies to assess, budget and plan for current and ongoing staffing requirements within existing resources.
