The Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern T.D., announced that he has invited the OECD to undertake a major review of the Irish Public Service. The review will have two main objectives:
- to benchmark the Public Service in Ireland against other comparable countries; and
- to make recommendations as to future directions for Public Service reform.
The scope of the terms of reference for the study (see attached) are such that it will be the first of its kind undertaken by the OECD.
Announcing the Review, the Taoiseach said:
"The Government is investing unprecedented levels of resources in public services. But problems remain - mainly with delivery on the ground and maximising return on investment. We want the OECD to examine rigorously the connections between the investment decisions that are being made at the Cabinet table in Government Buildings and delivery on the ground around the country in the key areas and issues affecting ordinary people".
This Review marks a new phase in the sustained reform of the Public Service over the last decade. The Review will cover the whole of the Public Service. While the review will not be a detailed audit of individual sectors such as health, education, local government etc, it will examine the effectiveness of arrangements through which government objectives are translated into outputs and outcomes. It will focus on the connections between the different sectors including the links between Departments/Offices and Local Government, Health and Education Sectors, with a particular focus on delivery of quality public services. The Taoiseach said: "We have already reviewed many individual sectors and parts of our public service system. We now want to take stock and see how does the system as a whole work".
The OECD Review is one of four initiatives announced by the Taoiseach. The other measures include a system of organisational reviews or "health checks" for public service bodies, better performance indicators including aggregate indicators to show the combined impact of spending in particular areas and a leadership programme to ensure that leaders are fully developed at all levels in the Public Service in the coming years. These are at an advanced stage of preparation and will be the subject of further announcements in 2007. The OECD Review will be supported by an advisory structure drawing on expertise from the business world, the academic community, the social partners and other stakeholders and will be led by the Secretary General to the Government.
Ends.
See below..
OECD Review
The review will focus on two key tasks:
(i) To benchmark the Public Service in Ireland against other comparable countries, including identification of appropriate measures to compare the productivity and effectiveness of the Irish system, or discrete elements of it, against comparable international best practice, and
(ii) To make recommendations as to future directions for Public Service reform which will support the Irish Government's drive for delivery of world class services to the citizen, within existing resources commitment, and contribute to sustainable national competitive advantage.
With due regard to the sustainable budgetary and fiscal policies adopted by the Irish Government, and the issues of scale and the unique structural considerations of the Irish Public Service, the benchmarking review, against other comparable countries, will include an assessment of:
(i) Key elements of the Public Service institutional and legal framework including the political/administrative interface;
(ii) Corporate Governance systems, including reporting and accountability arrangements, including to the Oireachtas (Parliament);
(iii) The system of resource allocation across the levels of government, sectors and institutions and the quality of performance measures employed;
(iv) Financial management systems underpinning the allocation, budget management and reporting processes;
(v) Public service employment, HRM policies and systems, including performance management and development systems;
(vi) The utilisation and impact of Information and Communication Technology having regard to its potential to improve quality customer service and to achieve productivity gains;
(vii) The process of goal and target setting used by Departments, agencies and within sectors and the alignment of those goals with Government objectives;
(viii) The forms of delegation and devolution of responsibility employed - from central Government across the Civil Service, across the wider Public Service and within individual public service organisations.
It is not intended that this review would be a substantive audit of sectors such as health, education, local government etc. Rather, it is envisaged that it will focus on the connectivity between the different sectors, including between the central level and the wider sectoral areas. It is intended that the review will examine the efficacy of the arrangements through which government objectives are translated into outputs and outcomes and offer a means of calibrating the contribution of different parts of the system. The review will have due regard to the public service as an entity which is unified by many shared values and common approaches but is also differentiated on a sectoral and organisational basis in terms of service diversity, policy formulation processes and corporate governance arrangements, including HRM policies.
Context
The review is set against the background of significant change in the corporate governance and financial and risk management areas, including steps taken to improve the estimates and budgetary processes along with modernisation of financial management and reporting arrangements. There has also been substantial legislative provision to underpin the human resource, financial and structural reforms across the Public Service.
It is recognised that much of what determines citizen /customer satisfaction with the Public Service is driven by the quality of front line service delivery in areas such as education, health and local government. However the effectiveness of Government in tackling horizontal issues (e.g. housing, child welfare, poverty reduction) and infrastructural investment - issues that span sectors and institutions at national, regional and local levels - must also form part of any assessment or benchmarking of the Irish Public Service.
It is envisaged that the review will have particular regard to:
- the strengths and weaknesses of the Irish system and structures in terms of policy implementation and service delivery - comprehending policy development; budgetary control, resource allocation, programme design and implementation; and evaluation and feedback;
- the role of the Civil Service within the wider Public Service;
- the quality and effectiveness of linkages and channels between Ministers and their Departments and the bodies under their agencies, including the growing number of independent regulatory authorities;
- the quality and effectiveness of linkages between Departments and their relevant sectoral institutions including in the local government, health, education and justice sectors;
- the impact that modernisation initiatives have had to date at sectoral (e.g., education, health, local government and justice) and agency levels; and
- Ensuring benchmarking comparisons are made on a "like for like" basis.
BENCHMARKING THE PUBLIC SERVICE
- the Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, TD.
OECD to review Public Service
As the New Year begins, it is clear that the Public Service will continue to make an important contribution to meeting the challenges and opportunities that face us as a country. To help maximise this contribution, I am inviting the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to undertake a major review of our Public Service.
This will be the first review of its kind in terms of its scope undertaken by the OECD. Of course, many stand-alone reviews have been undertaken over the years of different parts and aspects of the Public Service in Ireland. However, this Review will examine the whole Public Service. There will be a particular emphasis on how the various parts relate to each other, including the Civil Service, particular sectors such as local government, health and education as well as agencies. The OECD will tell us how the Irish Public Service compares with the best in the world and it will make recommendations as to future directions for reform. There may be some stark messages for us arising from this Review but we should be prepared for them and be prepared to make the hard decisions which reforms often require.
Addressing the pressure points
The Public Service plays an important role in shaping our economy and society. It is vital that the Public Service fulfils this role into the future, but that it does so in the most effective and efficient way possible. Over the past ten years our public services have been expanded, improved and reformed and this work continues apace.
More doctors, teachers and gardai are employed than ever before. These areas represent the "coal face" in Public Service terms: where the real value added lies. The extra teachers, nurses and gardai are making an impact. Significant service improvements have been made and many peoples' direct experience with the public service is good - with some obvious exceptions in pressurised areas. But we need further reform. The delivery channels must be improved and my Government colleagues and I are determined that they will be freed up and made more effective. This is where the OECD comes in.
Delivery is crucial
We want the OECD to examine rigorously the connections between the investment decisions that are being made around the Cabinet table in Government Buildings and delivery on the ground around the country, in the key areas of services and infrastructure affecting ordinary people. I am looking to the OECD, as a highly respected international expert body, to provide us with appropriate recommendations based on best practice from other countries, including delivery with the private and not-for-profit sectors. We want the OECD to examine how Government priorities and decisions are translated into services and outcomes for citizens, and how these processes can be improved. In short, I want our Public Service to be genuinely world class and "fit for purpose" to meet the needs of all our citizens.
A lot of change has taken place already in areas of financial management, human resources management, regulatory reforms, eGovernment initiatives, and customer service delivery mechanisms. But we need to show delivery on the ground, to highlight what is working, what is not and to help us make better informed choices about where to allocate resources.
Organisational "health checks"
While the OECD Review will be looking at how our public service system as a whole operates, there are three other developments that will be brought forward in 2007. Firstly, individual Departments and Agencies should be able to demonstrate their own performance and capacities - in effect they should undergo an "organisational health check". This would complement existing external review and accountability mechanisms applied by the Oireachtas, the Comptroller and Auditor General, expenditure reviews etc. Accordingly, a template is being developed and will be piloted for this kind of organisational "health check" in the coming months. This will involve peer review by senior public service managers, but will also draw on expertise from business, academic experts and other stakeholders.
Creating new leaders
The second area where there will be progress is a new leadership initiative for the whole Public Service. Change and reform require leadership at the political level, but also leadership within the Public Service. I want the Public Service to continue to be led by people with the right skills and capacities to serve the needs of all our citizens. That means encouraging and enabling career development across the wider public service. It means encouraging greater interaction and mobility with the private sector. It also means breaking down internal barriers to the selection and deployment of the best people for the job. In short, it means ensuring that we have the best people leading our Public Service in the years to come from a variety of backgrounds and with different skill sets.
Measuring our performance
Finally, I believe that we need to be able to measure how the Public Service is doing. I am certain that the Public Service is better now than it was when I first entered public life in the 1970's. But it is sometimes difficult to prove it. A lot of work is being done, particularly as part of the budget process, to develop appropriate and useful indicators of performance. My colleague the Minister for Finance, Mr Brian Cowen, T.D., is leading the way on this by asking Government Departments and Offices to produce more detailed performance information in the form of Annual Output Statements. Better measurement is a challenge for us collectively, particularly as we need indicators to show, not just the progress achieved by individual organisations, agencies or programmes but the progress of these combined.
The expectations of all our citizens are, quite correctly, very high when it comes to the Public Service. A key challenge for the Public Service is to continue to justify public confidence in its ability to deliver. I know that public servants are themselves anxious for reform and have already shown a strong appetite for change. The initiatives I am taking will be led by the Secretary General to the Government. He and his colleagues will draw on the expertise of the many outside the public service who can contribute to continuing change. We should be prepared for the key messages that will come out of the OECD's work in 2007 and we will ensure renewed vigour in our efforts to change, modernise and improve the Irish Public Service.
Ends.