A PLAN for sweeping reform of the public service, including the privatisation of major semi-State agencies, the abolition of the Seanad and a reduction in the number of TDs, was unveiled yesterday by Fine Gael.
The Reinventing Government plan, devised by the party’s enterprise spokesman Richard Bruton also involves the scrapping of Fás and the HSE, a reduction of 30,000 in the size of the public service and the abolition of 145 quangos.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the plan was designed to make government smaller, cheaper and better. “This will mean in practice that we end up having fewer politicians, fewer bureaucrats and much fewer quangos eating into your hard-earned taxes.
“It will also deliver better services, more accountability from those in charge and greater transparency in the way government operates,” said Mr Kenny.
He added that the public sector had a key role to play in rebuilding Ireland and Fine Gael believed that the vast majority of public servants did an absolutely vital job and were being unfairly targeted as a result of a crisis they did not create.
“The current crisis represents an opportunity to release the full potential of all who serve the public and a chance to say ‘Never again’ to the behaviour of the past that has cast such a shadow on our future,” he said.
Mr Kenny said the plan had been devised at a time of great crisis for the country. “Through the greed and reckless behaviour of the few, the many are being made to suffer. But this crisis also presents an opportunity for us all; an opportunity to reimagine our country and reinvent how we run our government.”
Mr Bruton said Reinventing Government would be a foundation stone of economic renewal instead of the present model of government, which was serving only to make things worse.
“Thousands of public servants are presently trapped in a system that is failing them. Fine Gael has a plan to make a step change in the way our public services are run that will reward effort and ingenuity and penalise waste and inefficiency.”
He said ministers and senior civil servants would evaluate projects and take responsibility for outcomes, while managers would be freed up to innovate and motivate their colleagues to serve the needs of the public.
"Unless there is a fundamental change in the way government does its business, it will continue to be part of the problem rather than the solution. We need a public service that is smaller, better and one that gets things done. Through the systems and plans outlined in Reinventing Government, Fine Gael will make that happen," said Mr Bruton.
Reinventing government: over 145 state bodies to be abolished
- The abolition of more than 145 State bodies and companies including the dismantling of the HSE and Fás and their replacement with better, more cost-effective alternatives
- Saving more than €5 billion, or €1 in €10 spent by public bodies, by confronting waste, duplication and inefficiency
- Externally recruiting new high-level specialists in banking, taxation and macroeconomic forecasting to improve the Department of Finance's capacity to deliver on key tasks
- At least one-third of all appointments at a senior level in the public service (above principal officer level) to be made from outside the current system for a period of five years;
- The registration of all lobbyists with the Standards in Public Office Commission and the lifting of recent restrictions to the Freedom of Information Act.
- The establishment of an independent fiscal council to advise the Dáil on issues such as borrowing levels, debt reduction and taxation planning. The fiscal council will be accountable to the Oireachtas Finance Committee.