asked the Minister for the Public Service if he proposes to relax the embargo in areas where it is clearly reducing revenue collection to the State.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Public Service Embargo.
30.
The White Paper on the Public Service, Serving the Country Better, acknowledges that the embargo as applied in the Civil Service is proving too inflexible for to-day's conditions. For this reason it is intended to replace the present embargo with a system under which Departments will have greater flexibility on the filling of vacancies within overall staffing targets. In determining these staffing targets the Government will have regard to all the factors including the need to collect all revenue owed to the State.
Is the Minister saying that for certain Departments he is removing the embargo and that the principal staff in that Department will have the right without referring to the Department of the Public Service to fill necessary posts to carry out their functions?
No. What is outlined in the White Paper is that for an interim period a Department will have their staffing targets for a period a year hence set for them and the obligation would then be on them rather than on the central Department to ensure that they met those terms, the aim being to arrive at a situation where Departments would have an overall allocation made to them and then things would be much in line with what the Deputy suggests: it would be up to the Departments to decide which grades to fill. We hope that situation can be brought about in a matter of years.
Would the result of that be that the embargo will be ineffective? If a Department are able to decide, within their overall targets to fill posts on a one for one basis, can they do so?
Provided the overall target set for the Department is reached as far as numbers and costs are concerned and provided work is not upgraded as a result; it would be up to the Department involved.
Will the Minister say what base figure will be used in allocating the first figure to each Department.
The base figure would have to amount to the equivalent of the objective of the plan.
What does that mean?
It means that some of the base figures would need to correspond with the target figure of the plan.
If a Department have a staffing level for 1985 and this new system is implemented in 1986, are they frozen at the 1985 figure, the 1984 figure or will there be a new figure for 1986?
There will be a new figure for 1986.
Will the Minister agree that the public service embargo over the past two years has had a very serious detrimental effect on the collection of revenue for the Revenue Commissioners?
No.
That is not what the Revenue Commissioners say.