THE GOVERNMENT’S public service reform programme contains some creative elements, particularly those cross-department structures designed to promote a modernising and cost-cutting agenda.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with a special “delivery office” will drive change under the aegis of the Croke Park agreement. A Cabinet committee will ensure reluctant Ministers participate fully. But the weakest link, as always, will centre on the willingness of public servants to accept change and the determination of their senior managers to implement it.
A plethora of national agreements promised reform and more effective and streamlined public services. What emerged amounted to minimal modernisation with a maximisation of costs. Appetite for change may have been there but willingness to confront vested interests was not. The tone was set by a government that appointed so many new agencies that their number and costs were unknown at the Department of Finance. Recession and a collapse in government revenues in 2008 marked a turning point. But it took the form of cuts in pay and an across-the-board reduction in numbers. And while money has been saved, the State still needs to borrow €1.25billion a month to cover ongoing expenses.
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has indicated where the axe will fall in the short term. Nearly 50 State agencies will be merged or abolished and a further 46 will be critically reviewed. The decentralisation programme introduced in 2003 by Charlie McCreevy has been finally and formally abandoned. The Government will, however, retain those regional offices already in use while reviewing the situation in relation to more than 20 others. The number of Vocational Education Committees will be halved. Public service numbers will fall by an estimated 23,500 over a four-year period. What this amounts to is a partial dismantling of past extravagances.
The manner in which Mr Howlin used figures when introducing the reform programme does not engender confidence. Rather than starting from this year’s general election and the establishment of his department, he returned to 2008 to plot a reduction in costs and public service numbers, estimating that, by 2015, savings of €2.5 billion will have been made. This approach offers a rose-tinted view of what can be achieved rather than a cold, hard analysis of the huge task that lies ahead. Those resisting reform will welcome it.
The Minister may be tougher and more determined than many people think. He certainly has an opportunity to transform how public services are structured and delivered. The list of internal reforms and administrative changes set down for Government departments is certainly comprehensive. Delivering them will test his mettle and that of his officials. The Croke Park agreement will provide necessary muscle in addressing issues such as sick days, absenteeism, redeployment and underperformance. But the reform programme will succeed or fail on its support at senior management levels.