Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 March 2018
217. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which reforms embraced by public administration in recent years years compare with reforms introduced in competing EU or non-EU jurisdictions, with particular reference to enhancing this country's opportunities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13537/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 2017, the OECD were commissioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to undertake a written evaluation of the Public Service Reform Plan 2014-16, with a view to informing future public service reform efforts. This assessment, which was published in July 2017, focused on whether the plan met its objectives; provided clear recommendations for the future direction of public service reform in Ireland; and considered and compared approaches in other OECD States.
The OECD assessment noted that the plan succeeded in completing the majority of the activities it set out to do and that the plan succeeded in creating a public-service wide approach to reform. It particularly highlighted the significance of the plan in both creating an impetus for reform and identifying actions within each public service body to support the plan. Key learnings from the OECD assessment informed the development of Our Public Service 2020, a new framework for development and innovation in the public service to 2020 and beyond, which I launched last December.
In addition to the positive report from the OECD, a recent report by the Institute of Public Administration (Public Sector Trends 2017) includes many positive findings on the development and progress of our public services across the EU28. This review which draws on data from the World Bank, the IMF and the OECD amongst other sources, found that:
- Ireland’s Public Administration comes first in the EU28 for being the most professional and least politicised.
- Ireland comes 6th in the EU28 for the quality of its public administration (a relatively consistent score over last three years).
- Ireland is 5th in the EU28 in the rating of perceptions that Government decisions are effectively implemented.
Both the OECD assessment of the Public Service Reform Plan 2014-16, and the IPA Public Sector Trends report demonstrate that Ireland’s public services continue to perform well on an international stage and that there is a solid basis for continuous improvement and development of our public services.
