Michael Moynihan
Question:6. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Taoiseach the public sector reform measures that have been introduced in his Department since 2017. [41811/18]
View answerWednesday, 14 November 2018
Questions (6, 7, 8)
Mary Lou McDonald
Question:7. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the public sector reform measures under way in his Department. [45087/18]
View answer
Brendan Howlin
Question:8. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Taoiseach the public sector reform measures under way in his Department; and his priorities in this regard. [46730/18]
View answerOral answers (5 contributions)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 8, inclusive, together.
My Department continues to implement public sector reform actions which aim to develop both staff and the organisation to deliver excellent services. This work is guided by the successive reform plans published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Civil Service renewal plan. The latest plan, Our Public Service 2020, sets out the next phase of priorities with a strong emphasis on promoting innovation to enhance our public services.
In the areas of shared services, my Department has migrated in line with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform requirements with HR, pensions and payroll services completed. Preparations are under way within my Department for the next major shared services project, which is financial management shared service.
The Department liaises closely with the OGP on all matters related to public procurement and monitors all areas of expenditure on an ongoing basis to ensure value for money is achieved.
The Department is currently engaged in approximately 40 OGP central frameworks for supply of goods and services, such as provision of cleaning supplies, taxis, travel management and Irish translation services.
In 2017, my Department was a pilot organisation for the implementation of the eCorrespondence system as part of the move towards the use of common applications across the Civil Service. We have also implemented a wide range of actions as part of Civil Service renewal since 2017, including adopting the new shared learning and development training, which makes 60 newly tailored courses available to all staff; the new service-wide mobility scheme for executive officer and clerical officer grades; a gender balance action plan setting out actions to provide a positive work environment; employee engagement and well-being initiatives in response to the 2017 Civil Service employee engagement survey; participation in senior public service initiatives, including executive leadership programmes for senior managers, as part of a new talent management initiative; and the introduction of the single Government visual identity. Other initiatives under way include preparing a new human resource strategy to underpin the delivery of the people strategy for the Civil Service at a local level, and moving the Department website to the single Government platform, gov.ie, which I mentioned earlier.
I am satisfied the fruits of reform and renewal are evident in my Department with services and staff who are responsive and deliver high quality service. There is a strong track record of the Department being able to adjust and respond quickly to emerging needs. Specific programmes of work to which my Department has responded in recent years include the Citizens' Assembly, Brexit preparedness, justice reform and the social and economic regeneration of Dublin’s north-east inner city.
The Taoiseach mentioned the various public sector reform policies and their aims. Are public servants given enough support in advancing those specific policies in every Department? Are they given every possible support? When there is a gradual change in policy, they should be supported and presented with ideals. There has been a trend, in particular among Government politicians, to say that any major crisis that occurs is the fault of the Civil Service or the public service. We talk about public sector reform but these people give considerable service. In general, since the foundation of the State, the public sector has given great service to the people, and there are many fine public servants across the sector, whether in the Civil Service, An Garda Síochána or the health or education sectors. While a small minority of people have abused their positions, most have given great service.
Significant challenges face our society as it evolves, which it has been doing at great speed over the past number of years and which it will continue to do. There is a need to support the public service in each of its facets. What human resource supports are in place? How are public servants being encouraged or equipped for public sector reform? The reform will have an impact on them and the service they are expected to deliver.
The programme for Government contains a range of commitments for political reform, such as Ministers of State playing a more substantive role in policy formation and a re-examination of their functions within departmental structures and of their relationships with Ministers.
There is also a commitment to examine the creation of unpaid roles of parliamentary private secretaries and the balance of power and responsibility between the Government and the Civil Service. What progress has been made in this regard? Has an examination been undertaken? What is the level of engagement, to date and planned, with the men and women who will deliver this reform programme? One often hears civil and public servants say they have reform fatigue, that is, they are busy and working but they do not feel engaged in the decisions that are made in the political sphere.
Over the past two nights, RTÉ showed two riveting programmes about what happened to Sergeant Maurice McCabe, his wife, Lorraine, and their family. Did the Taoiseach get a chance to watch these programmes by Katie Hannon? They are required viewing for anybody interested in how Irish public administration and reform work. I expect them to be on management and university courses in the decades to come. The key question that emerges from the programmes is whether anyone will be held accountable. In recent days, the Taoiseach discussed the matter in regard to the former Garda Commissioner and his legal position. The questions that stand out from the programme, however, are what happened to Tusla and how the false allegation, which for any person would be a truly dreadful allegation, namely, of violating and raping a child, was transferred to a file.
This matter cuts to the core of public service reform. How does the Taoiseach propose to deal with the issue, which has been the subject of endless inquiries? A grave wrong was done to a particular individual and his family, which the programme shows clearly. What are the Taoiseach's priorities for public service reform? The need for it was shown by the tribunal and the facts of the case. This House agreed to the establishment of Sláíntecare, which would affect some of these areas, but has there been any progress on that?
There was also an agreement on an electoral commission, on which I recall the Taoiseach being keen, but has there been any progress? We are approaching another election but there is no control of political messaging and its sources on social media. We could be in the same boat as other countries which have suffered vast interference in their electoral processes.
On the appointment of unpaid parliamentary private secretaries, we have decided not to proceed. We are relatively slim on the Government benches in this Dáil, with only 56 or 57 Deputies, many of whom, if not most, are Ministers or Ministers of State. In a different context, however, with a larger or majority Government, there might be a case for giving Deputies some experience in the ministerial ranks, but it is not something with which we propose to proceed in the current Government.
Ministers of State are heavily involved in policy formation in the areas for which they are responsible. Almost all Ministers of State have a delegation order which legally prescribes functions to them, while others have a delegation letter from a Minister which assigns them certain areas. They are the lead people, therefore, in policy formation on those areas. They also engage with their line Minister on broader matters, as well as through the Cabinet sub-committee system, and Ministers of State often attend Cabinet meetings where relevant. At the Cabinet meeting on Brexit today, for example, the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, attended for obvious reasons. This is not a new practice and it ensures Ministers of State are fully engaged in decision-making when decisions need to be made.
I did not have a chance to watch the documentary on Maurice McCabe over the past two nights, although I saw a few clips last night. I very much want to watch it from start to finish but, unfortunately, I have not had much time for television in the past couple of days given everything else that is going on. Between now and Christmas, I certainly intend to watch it from start to finish. From what I have heard, it is essential viewing for anyone involved in politics and public administration, as Deputy Burton said. I will make it my business, therefore, to watch it.
In regard to progress made in other areas, I must admit that progress on the electoral commission has been slow. It was discussed at Cabinet on Tuesday and I asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, and the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, to get on with the job, the next step of which is to produce a regulatory impact assessment of the electoral commission.
However, that section of the Department has much work to do. It is also working on local government reform and the referendums that are pencilled in for next May on extending the franchise in presidential elections to all Irish citizens no matter where they live, as well as the plebiscite. They have a great deal on their agenda but I appreciate that the electoral commission has been on that agenda for a long time and there ought to have been more progress. The idea is that the electoral commission could replace the Referendum Commission, in effect having a standing referendum commission which would be useful as it would no longer be necessary to set the commission and then close it down each time there was a referendum. It would also have responsibility for issues such as the electoral register, and could take on responsibility for registering Irish citizens who live outside the State, for instance if they register for postal votes under the reformed franchise for presidential elections in the event that people vote for that, or for the reformed Seanad franchise. It is a constitutional requirement for Seanad elections to operate by postal vote which makes them expensive. That is something we ought to examine. It also might have a role in the regulation of political advertising and posters. The Referendum Commission will publish its report on the abortion referendum shortly. It expressed particular concerns that no body was regulating poster or online advertising, but we must always be careful that in regulating these areas, we do not infringe on free speech. We need to get that balance right. I would never make changes on those issues without cross-party consensus, and people will understand why.
We are making a lot more progress on Sláintecare. The implementation office has been established and it has a director, Ms Laura Magahy. On Friday, I spent two or three hours going through the implementation plan with Ms Magahy and the Ministers for Health and Finance. Many of the measures in the budget speak to Sláintecare, including the move towards universal healthcare, reduction in prescription charges, the reduction in the drugs payment scheme threshold, and an increase in the income threshold limit for the GP visit card so that more people pay less for healthcare. It is happening at a slow pace but we must do it at a pace that is affordable and ensure there is sufficient capacity in the health service to deal with it. Negotiations are under way with the Irish Medical Organisation on a new GP contract. Were we to reach agreement on that in the coming months, it would be a significant step forward.
The implementation of the bed capacity review is also under way with 250 additional hospital beds provided this year. I do not know how many will be provided next year but I hope it will be more than that. The De Buitléir report on whether we should, and how we might, remove private practice from public hospitals is near completion. That would be a radical step forward. Project Ireland 2040 provides €11 billion for investment in healthcare in new hospitals and hospital extensions. Some 120 new primary care centres are up and running and there is new equipment and ICT. The National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF has been given a greater role in the management of waiting lists. Waiting lists in Ireland are not well managed. Through the resources it has been given, the NTPF, has made progress on waiting times for operations and procedures. The average person waits less than six months on a waiting list for an operation or procedure, but the waiting times remain bad for outpatients. However, there are more missed appointments than there are people waiting more than three months. That says a great deal about the need for more reform, as much, if not more, than the need for more resources, because in excess of 300,000 patients are waiting to see a specialist, whereas 500,000 appointment slots go unfilled. All those issues need to be managed centrally.
Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.