Regions call for increased decision-making powers

The Government has an unparalleled opportunity to save millions of pounds and improve the effectiveness of the Civil Service if it extends the decentralisation programme to include the devolution of power, according to regional representatives.

Mr Dick Roche, a Fianna Fail TD and chairman of the Oireachtas All-Party Committee on the Strategic Management Initiative (SMI), said the concentration of Departments and power in Dublin was costing the State millions in wasted resources each year.

Noting that France has been successfully decentralising "at what we would consider a breathtaking pace", Mr Roche, who also lectures on public administration in UCD, described as "almost Stalinist" the level of decision-making in Dublin.

While he welcomed the new programme for decentralisation announced by the Minister for Finance, Mr Roche said it should be "taken one step further". Maintaining that there are a number of areas where the Civil Service and its customers could interact quickly and effectively, Mr Roche said the information technology was in place to allow the creation of a series of "one-stop shops", where clients around the country would have access to the same information available as in Dublin.

"What is missing is the local decision-making. For example, if I want to make a claim for social welfare or headage payments I should be able to go in to my local office where all the records are accessible using technology, and there should be a member of staff there empowered to make a decision on the claim."

Mr Roche said this system would also act effectively in relation to applications for housing grants, among others, and he pointed out that it was already largely in place in relation to the Revenue Commissioners.

Further integration could be brought in with the involvement of other agencies, he maintained, adding that "we seem to be one region for the ESB, one region for the health boards and another for tax.

"There is an administrative revolution waiting to happen; now is the time to do it," he said.

Mr Roche's comments were echoed by Mr Liam Kenny, the director of the General Council of County Councils, who said that without devolution of power, decentralisation was merely "so much moving of pins around a map". While he accepted that the decentralisation plan as envisaged by the Minister for Finance would have a beneficial impact on the local economies of the cities and towns affected, Mr Kenny said much more could be done.

The county council, he said, as an agency had a role to play in many aspects of life in the regions but decision-making and other crucial aspects often remained in Dublin.

Mr Kenny cited the local authorities' role in designing buildings and maintaining the road network, "yet it has no real say in public transport", he commented.