Before dealing with the financial details, Deputies, I am sure, will want to hear of the developments that have taken place in the intervening 12 months as regards the Government's programme for improvements in and development of the public service. The House can be in no doubt as to the Government's, or my commitment and determination to provide for an efficient, effective and modern public service.
I have prepared a draft white paper, and a general scheme of a Bill, outlining a comprehensive programme for the development of the public service. My Department have completed a very full process of consultation with other Departments about the proposals contained in that document and it has now been submitted to Government.
These proposals will provide a worthwhile and broadly based programme which, I am confident, will enable the Civil Service and the wider public service to perform their functions in the most effective manner in the difficult and rapidly changing times which face us.
While I cannot comment in detail on the contents of the White Paper because my proposals must first be approved by the Government, I can say that it will spell out in greater detail the Government's decisions on the public service contained in Building on Reality. It will deal with proposals for new, more accountable systems of management, proposals to free Ministers from the details of day-to-day administration of their Departments, staff mobility and co-ordination across the public service.
Much, however, has already been accomplished in the past 12 months. As Members of the House will be aware, I have constantly pointed to the need for systems of accountable management in the public service and such a new system has been in operation in my own Department for the past year.
It was developed with the intentions of promoting a more cost-conscious approach to management and of generating a greater sense of personal responsibility among individual managers for the efficient use of the resources allocated to them.
The system is based on a departmental plan which takes a methodical view of the overall aim and objectives of the Department. For this, clear statements of the programmes being carried out to achieve these objectives, and their cost, were prepared. Within these programmes, the personal objectives and budgets of individual managers down to principal level were identified. These features facilitated a complete review of the Department's activities by the Management Committee towards the end of 1984.
Following this review, the system has been refined and the departmental plan for 1985 has now been completed. The system has also been expanded to include personal objectives and budgets for assistant principals. The intention in this is that responsibility within programmes, and for resources used, should be delegated as far down the management structure as possible, thus giving individuals a more challenging and rewarding role in the Department's activities.
Work is also progressing in financial aspects of the system. The intention is that the total costs involved in any of the Department's activities will be identified with the relevant programmes and objectives of individuals. In this way a "value for money" attitude towards the Department's activities is being increasingly cultivated. The benefits derived from a particular programme can be viewed more readily in the light of the cost of that programme. It is intended that the preparation of the Department's Estimates for forthcoming years will rest on this programme basis, taking greater account of the activities for which funds are being provided, who is administratively responsible for them and what is expected to be achieved with them.
Some development work remains to be done. When this has been completed, the system will be extended to all other Departments. I am well aware that conditions vary from Department to Department due to differences of size and functions being carried out. Therefore a rigid adherence to the type of system developed in my Department cannot be imposed. Departments will be invited to view the system which is operating, to assess the many benefits which it has to offer and to adapt it to cater for their own needs.
Another significant development now in place for almost 18 months, is that of the Top Level Appointments Committee which allows for a new, more merit-based system of making appointments to top levels in the Civil Service. Under the scheme all appointments to posts at the level of assistant secretary (including departmental and professional equivalents) and above are now made following consideration of a recommendation of the committee.
To date, 30 vacancies have been filled through the new arrangements, including seven secretaries of Departments. Nine of the appointments involved movement between Departments. This represents a major breakthrough in the Government's policy to encourage lateral mobility in the civil and public service.
As part of the new arrangements the tenure of office of secretaries of Departments was changed to provide that secretaries appointed under the new arrangements would serve for not more than seven years. Secretaries of Departments appointed under the new system must retire from such posts at the age of 60. However, officers aged 55 or over on the date the new scheme started (i.e. January 1984) continue to be eligible for appointment as secretary but, if appointed, will have to retire after five years and, in any event, on reaching the age of 65.
The scheme has widened promotional opportunities throughout the Civil Service for officers at principal and assistant secretary levels, including departmental and professional equivalents. The underlying thrust of the scheme towards greater mobility and more competitive systems of promotion is reflected in developments relating to other Civil Service promotional schemes at middle and senior management levels.
This is reflected in particular in the recent introduction of an interdepartmental scheme of promotion to the grade of principal and certain related grades. This scheme provides that one in three of all existing posts and all new posts will be filled by interdepartmental competition. Half the vacancies arising at assistant principal level and half the vacancies at higher executive officer level are now filled by interdepartmental competition. The net result of these changes is that competitive interdepartmental promotion schemes now apply to at least all general service management grades in the Civil Service. These provide that different proportions of vacancies at different levels are filled by interdepartmental competition.
Effective appraisal schemes are an essential component of any system of management based on personal responsibility and of any system of promotion based on merit. They also provide an invaluable mechanism for identifying the training and development needs of staff. Schemes are now in operation for all grades from executive officer upwards in the general administrative stream, for all posts coming under the Top Level Appointments Committee, and for certain other departmental grades.
Arising out of decisions of the Government Task Force on Employment, schemes of career breaks and job-sharing have been introduced in the Civil Service. Under the job-sharing scheme, serving civil servants may opt to share equally the duties and responsibilities of a particular post in return for half pay and other benefits. All vacancies, including those occurring at recruitment level, are filled, thus providing additional job opportunities in the Civil Service for new recruits. Up to the end of April 1985, there were 297 applications for job-sharing, of which 150 had been granted at that time.
In addition to introducing job-sharing for serving civil servants, arrangements have been made to recruit a total of 180 staff, comprising 90 clerical assistants, 60 clerical officers and 30 executive officers, on a job-sharing basis during 1985. Job-sharing recruits will be offered full time employment after a minimum of two years' service.
Under the career break scheme, the majority of civil servants will be eligible to apply for a career break which will consist of special leave without pay for a period of not less than a year and not more than three years. Career breaks may be used for a wide variety of reasons including domestic responsibilities, further education, setting up a business, or any other reason.
Vacancies arising when serving officers take career breaks will be filled, as will consequential vacancies including those at recruitment level. This increases job opportunities in the Civil Service for new recruits. Officers returning after a career break will be assigned to vacancies as and when they arise. Up to the end of April 1985, there were 766 applications for career breaks, of which 751 have been granted.
It will be seen that the net effect in the first year of operation of both the job-sharing and career break schemes is that some 800 or 900 additional people have obtained employment in the Civil Service, in addition to the benefit which has been obtained by the participants in the schemes.
In view of the success of the schemes in the Civil Service the Government decided to extend them to other areas in the public sector and a commitment to this effect is given in the national plan. Government Ministers have been asked to have the schemes promoted in all State agencies attached to their Departments. Career break schemes have already been introduced in the local authority and health areas and negotiations on schemes for the teaching area, for the Garda and for the clerical and administrative staff in the VECs are well advanced.
It is hoped that the success which the schemes have enjoyed in the Civil Service will be replicated in the wider public service. All necessary steps will be taken to ensure that the schemes are promoted vigorously throughout the public sector.
In order to give staff fresh experiences and more challenging tasks, as well as to introduce new ideas, the Government are determined to arrange for a significant number of temporary exchanges between the Civil Service, the rest of the public sector — particularly Departments' own agencies — and the private sector. Although a scheme of exchanges was agreed in 1979 the number of staff involved to date has been very disappointing, despite a Government directive to Departments in July 1983 which required 56 exchanges in all, of which nine were to be with the private sector. In fact, there has been particular difficulty in relation to the number of exchanges between the Civil Service and the private sector.
While 24 exchanges have taken place within the Civil Service and with semi-State bodies since July 1983, only five private sector firms or organisations have exchanged staff with the Civil Service since the scheme began in 1979 — Guinness, Irish Cement, Stokes Kennedy Crowley, the Federated Union of Employers and the Bank of Ireland.
Because these exchanges are designed to develop the individuals who take part, to provide an intake of special skills and to improve communication and understanding between the public service and the private sector, and added impetus has now been given to the scheme by the appointment of a senior officer in my Department with specific responsibility for ensuring that more exchanges with the private sector take place. There have been very encouraging indications recently from several of the large private sector firms and I hope to be in a position next year to report considerable progress in the development of the staff exchange scheme, especially in relation to movement between the private and public sectors.
A scheme of Anglo-Irish exchanges also exists. As well as contributing to the development of British and Irish civil servants, the scheme is intended to improve mutual understanding between the two countries. Exchanges can be for periods of six months to two years and about three exchanges — each way — are envisaged at any one time. Despite unhelpful comment at the time of the announcement of the scheme, I am pleased that its implementation has already begun.
A radically revised staff suggestion scheme, INPUT, has been introduced in the Civil Service to encourage initiative and creativity. It offers prizes of from £50 to £1,000 for suggestions from civil servants on how to do things better, how to cut costs or how to avoid waste. Prize winners are determined by an interdepartmental committee under the chairmanship of an officer of my Department.
The Government are determined to continue their programme of increased utilisation of information technology to improve the efficiency of public service administration, to increase the effectiveness of management and professional staff and to make access to services more readily available to the public. The widespread use of modern technology is essential to deliver an increasingly complex range of services at a time when we are committed to further reductions in Civil Service numbers. During the past year we have strengthened the organisational arrangements for the management of information technology in the Civil Service.
Much of the work which was previously carried out by the Central Data Processing Services (CDPS) of my Department has been decentralised in order to give local management greater responsibility for, and control of, their own information processing. The major impact of this decision has been the transfer of a large number of CDPS personnel to the Departments of Social Welfare, Justice and Health. It has also strengthened the recent trend of providing for new systems through the installation of local computors rather than through the expansion of the CDPS mainframe capacity.
Central support, co-ordination and control of such widespread development is important if the momentum is to be maintained and resources used to best advantage. For this purpose CDPS has been restructured into three separate functions within my Department.
A Central Computing Service (CCS) has been established to develop and support common and service-wide applications. The CCS will also support smaller Departments which have not as yet established systems development services. Both Departments and the CCS will make the fullest use of the most modern systems development aids and will make use of off-the-shelf and turnkey solutions whenever they are available and justifiable.
The second new function is an Information Management Advisory Service (IMAS) to advise and assist Departments with the development of plans and to co-ordinate plans between Departments. During the coming year all Departments will be required to produce plans for the utilisation of information technology and this planning process will be the vehicle for ongoing review and co-ordination of progress in this area. The plans will identify clear objectives for the use of technology, specific projects to address those objectives, and the resources necessary to implement them. These plans will ensure that investment decisions are based on the best possible information in relation to the costs, benefits and overall impact of proposed projects.
The advisory service will also undertake research into areas of information technology which are of particular relevance, e.g. 4th generation aids, networking, etc., and will formulate guidelines and standards for the acquisition, introduction and use of these.
Growth in the capability of microcomputers has been remarkable in recent years and we are establishing within IMAS a microcomputer support centre to demonstrate the potential of this particular technology in a Civil Service environment and to support users in identifying uses for it.
The third function to be exercised centrally is one of control on expenditure and monitoring the achievement of results. While we are committed to more extensive usage of technology it is important that expenditure on it should be as tightly controlled as all public expenditure at present. In future this function will be administered by the vote control section of my Department.
In parallel with the above developments to encourage more active progress at Departmental level, we are conscious that individual applications of technology sometimes depend on the availability of central infrastructures. One avenue which we are actively considering is the extent to which an interdepartmental communications network would facilitate the development of trans-departmental information processing services. This is an exciting and interesting area for exploration and I have recently invited a number of firms of consultants to tender for a consultancy project related to this initiative.
Members of the House will be particularly interested in two proposed developments of direct relevance to their work as public representatives. The proposals of the Leader of the House in relation to the use of technology in the business of the Houses of the Oireachtas are progressing and we would expect to see the introduction of some facilities this year. I have also commenced a study of the potential improvements which information technology could bring to the administration of Ministers' private offices and we expect to commence implementation in some offices this year. I hope that the introduction of that technology will, as well as being of benefit to the Department, result in an improved standard of service in handling queries from public representatives and members of the public addressed to individual Ministers.
Our policy and action in relation to information technology are based on continuing review of the latest developments and best practices in this rapidly evolving and critical area. We will continue to promote and expedite its effective utilisation as an essential feature of developing public services to meet modern requirements.
The Ombudsman's first year in office was a busy one as his annual report, which was recently published, reveals. The report shows that a total of 2,267 complaints were received. These were received from every county in Ireland and involved almost all of the Government Departments and offices subject to investigation by the Ombudsman. The majority of the complaints were in the areas of social welfare, taxation or telecommunications. The nature and extent of the complaints received clearly underline the need for the office and fully justifies its establishment.
There have been a number of important developments recently concerning the Ombudsman. A major extension of his remit took place on 1 April last. In addition to Government Departments and offices, the Ombudsman is now empowered to investigate complaints relating to health boards, local authorities, An Post and Bord Telecom Éireann. Deputies will also recall that the Ombudsman Act, 1980, was amended last November to provide that orders altering the Schedules to the Act require a positive motion of approval by both Houses of the Oireachtas.
Members of the House were thus fully involved in the decision to extend the remit of the Ombudsman and I am pleased to say that this extension was heartily approved by all sides. The Schedules to the 1980 Act have also been updated to take account of a number of bodies which have been established since the original legislation was enacted. This is a major expansion of the Ombudsman's remit and it means that the actions of an additional 100,000 public servants approximately fall within his jurisdiction.
The Estimates being discussed today reflect that expansion, and in particular the broadening of the Ombudsman's role in relation to the health boards, local authorities, An Post and Bord Telecom Éireann. A total amount of £655,000 is being provided this year which is a major increase over 1984 when the Estimate totalled almost £244,000. Staffing costs are of course the major element in the Estimate for the office. I understand that a competition to recruit 12 additional investigators has also been completed. I would like to take this opportunity of wishing the Ombudsman and his staff every success in their important work.
A reduction in the numbers in and cost of the public service has been a prime concern of the Government. There are two main reasons for this. Because of the extra numbers taken into the public service up to mid-1981, often with little or no regard as to whether these staff were necessary or could be gainfully employed, we were satisfied that there were substantial reserves of staff in public service organisations generally which needed to be shaken out. Secondly, we have been concerned at the sheer scale of the public service pay bill — £2,464 million for 1985 — and the budgetary problems associated with providing for expenditure of those dimensions.
In general, our aim has been, and still is, to reduce the size of the public service to a level more in keeping with the country's requirements and the capacity of the taxpayer to sustain it. And so we have continued various restrictions aimed at reducing public service numbers and are committed to maintaining that approach over the period of the national plan.
In the Civil Service the embargo on the filling of two out of every three vacancies continues. Since 1981 the number of Civil Service posts has been reduced through this method by 2,800 or 8.3 per cent. The embargo is not, however, applied blindly. Exceptions have been made, for instance, in relation to vacancies arising from career breaks and job sharing schemes. Such vacancies are filled in all circumstances so that the potential of these schemes to create employment openings can be realised. Also where special difficulties were acknowledged to exist, e.g. in relation to the Department of Social Welfare and the Revenue Commissioners, extra staff has been provided by redeployment from other Departments. The operation of the embargo is being supplemented by reviews of Departments and of schemes and programmes. The overall result will be a slimmer and fitter Civil Service more suited to our national needs, and to our national pocket.
Elsewhere in the public service the curbs on numbers are being applied mostly indirectly through control of cash allocations. In this way management will be provided with an added incentive to review its projects and procedures and to streamline its services and provide them in the most cost-effective way possible. While allocations will be limited and numbers employed will fall, I am satisfied that sufficient resources will be available to ensure that with good management and direction a satisfactory level of services will be maintained. Over the period of the national plan the target is that the public service numbers will fall by 5,000 of which the Civil Service will provide 1,500.
The underlying purpose of many of the changes introduced in the public service is to improve its efficiency and effectiveness, its value for money and its courtesy in dealing with the public. I have taken a number of specific initiatives designed to impact directly on the interaction between the public service and the general public. Some examples are as follows. A major advertising campaign was run in press and on TV to publicise the Government decision that civil servants must give their name when using the telephone, must clearly indicate their name and designation in all correspondence with the public and must wear a name badge if they deal regularly with the public. Major improvements were carried out in a number of public office areas to pilot the type of improvements which can be made in such areas in all Departments. The State Services entry in the telephone directories (Parts I and II) was redesigned and now includes an easy-reference alphabetic listing of services together with the normal Department-by-Department entry. It is printed in pages of a different colour from the remainder of the directory. A special Forms Design Unit has been established. The unit is equipped with modern computer-aided design equipment and has as its objective the improvement and simplification of the presentation and layout of Civil Service forms.
On the general question of public service pay policy, the basic policy is set out in some detail in the national plan which indicated that achievement of the Government's public expenditure targets requires that the growth in the pay and pensions bill be severely restricted over the years 1985 to 1987.
I have previously suggested in this House that if individual Deputies or members of the public come across examples of badly designed, misleading or upsetting public service or Civil Service forms I would be very appreciative if they would bring them to my attention, pointing out the areas where the public have difficulty in comprehending the complexity of the types of answers being sought. Again, I ask the House for co-operation in bringing details of such forms to our attention. There are still some 30,000 forms being used by the public and it is self-evident that there will be many forms which were not designed to the highest standard and some of which we have yet to come across.
The underlying philosophy is that in order to avoid severe reductions in staff numbers, which could cause a sharp deterioration in public services and increase unemployment, it is necessary to curtail the growth in average pay per head over the period of the plan. The cash limits specified in the plan permit payment of special pay increases committed or sanctioned at the date of the plan, including payment of phases yet to be implemented under the terms of the 1983 PSPA. It is not possible, however, to provide for any further special increases over the period of the plan.
Last year the cost of Exchequer pay and pensions increased by 7.4 per cent to £2,337 million. The provision for 1985 has been increased by a further 5.4 per cent to £2,464 million to meet the cost of implementing the 24th round pay increase in the public service, the carry-forward cost of the second phase of the 1983 Public Service Pay Agreement and the cost of special increases which were sanctioned or committed before the publication of the plan.
I now turn to some of the financial details relating to this group of Estimates.
The Estimates for Vote 19 — the Office of the Minister for the Public Service — is £7.4 million, which is an increase of £1.106 million on the 1984 outturn. The Vote covers the day to day running expenses of the Department and comes in the main under four broad heads, three of expenditure and one, Appropriations-in-Aid of income. Pay of staff amounts to £4.870 million which is 66 per cent of the total Estimate. This provision reflects the transfer of 68 staff to the Departments of Social Welfare, Justice and Health during March/April 1985, arising from the implementation of the Government decision on the Report of the Review Body on computerisation in the Government Services.
The second item of major expenditure is £900,000 for the purchase, leasing, renting and maintenance of computer equipment used by the Department's Central Computing Service. A provision of £1.068 million has been provided by way of a grant-in-aid for the Institute of Public Administration. This grant-in-aid is a contribution towards the general expenses of the institute and includes the corporate subscriptions on behalf of Government Departments. The institute is involved in the training and education of public servants, in promoting and undertaking administrative research and in publishing sources of material on public administration. Appropriations-in-Aid on the Vote are expected to come to £1 million in 1985. These arise mainly from receipts in respect of computer services provided by the Central Computing Service for bodies other than Government Departments.
The second vote is Vote 20, the Civil Service Commission. The cost of running the Civil Service Commission and Local Appointments Commission in 1985 is estimated at a net amount of £1,140,000. This amount is required to cover the cost of salaries, wages and allowances of the staff of the two commissions, the cost of the competitions run by them and various other expenses. The gross cost comes to £2,060,000 but revenue received will reduce this by £920,000 to £1,140,000.
The third Vote is Vote 22 — Superannuation and Retired Allowances — which requires a net amount of £43.442 million. The Vote covers payments of pension and retirement lump sums to established and non-established civil servants, to their widows and widows of the Judiciary. The increase on this Vote compared to the 1984 outturn is due to the increase in the number of pensioners and the revision of pensions in line with pay increases.
As regards Vote 49 — Increases in Remuneration and Pensions — this Vote provides £108 million to meet the cost to the Exchequer of implementing the decision announced in the budget to make provision for a 24th Round settlement in the public service based on the terms of the arbitrator's finding for certain civil servants. The arbitrator recommended a seven month pay pause followed by a 3 per cent increase from 1 January 1985 and a further 3 per cent from 1 July 1985. The provision in the Vote will be distributed to Departments and the State bodies later in the year when the full extent of excesses on departmental provisions for pay can be assessed.