THE NUMBER of top-level managers in local authorities and in the health service around the country is to be reviewed.
The Irish Timesunderstands that the Government is to ask the review group which is assessing the cost base, expenditure and staffing levels in local authorities to carry out an examination of existing management structures.
The Government has also decided that there is also to be a further review of management structures in the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Government sources said the moves by the Cabinet reflected concerns expressed by many in the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party earlier this month at the proliferation of numbers at the top level in the public service.
Figures produced by the Department of Finance last week reveal that there are 231 directors of services in local authorities around the country.
In addition, there are 34 county managers as well as five assistant county managers in the Dublin area.
The department figures also show that there are 124 senior managers in the HSE.
There are also 15 senior managers in the voluntary hospital sector and three more in non-commercial health bodies.
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan told the Dáil last week during a debate on pay cuts for top-level staff in the public service that he was “concerned about the efficiency of management structures, particularly in the HSE and local government”.
“Accordingly, the Government intends the McLoughlin group, undertaking an independent efficiency review of local authorities within a tight timeframe, will also review management arrangements in local authorities, as well as taking account of Government policy on local government reform and measures already in train in transforming the public service agenda.
“The group is to complete its work by the middle of this year,” the Minister said.
“The Government intends that a similar review will be carried out in the HSE.”
However, some highly placed sources in the public service indicated at the weekend that it could be difficult to see a reduction in top level numbers coming about without the introduction of some form of redundancy scheme in the public service.
The Government last year put in place incentivised early retirement and career break schemes as part of moves to reduce numbers on the State payroll.
Fianna Fáil backbenchers were initially critical of the Government’s U-turn on the scale of pay cuts originally envisaged in the budget for around 600 top civil and public servants.
However, at a subsequent meeting, which was addressed by Mr Lenihan, they backed the stance of the Government that the cuts in pay originally set out for assistant secretaries in the Civil Service as well as for other top-level staff in the public service should be scaled back to take account of the abolition of their bonus scheme.
The Government maintained that the average annual payout under this bonus scheme was in the region of €15,000 and that it was “simply not reasonable to ignore the loss of payments of this sort”.
While the McLoughlin group on local authorities is due to report in the months ahead, Government sources said that it would be up to the Department of Health to establish the planned review of structures in the HSE .
There have already been a number of such reviews of health service structures in recent years.
The HSE is in the process of appointing a new chief executive to replace Prof Brendan Drumm who is scheduled to leave in the summer.