Sir, – In the ongoing debate on the influence on Government policy of advisers, the NGO sector and the citizens’ assembly, one area which has received little attention has been the dilution of the role of the permanent Civil Service.
When an incoming government takes office, among the many functions of the civil service is to find the best and impartial way to implement policies contained in the government’s election manifesto or, in some cases, not being afraid to urge caution.
In the past, this approach was sometimes carried out with the involvement of politically appointed programme managers.
However, over the years, the system has changed radically, with many more disparate layers of advice and opinion coming from unelected sources but contributing significantly to the business of government.
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In 2011, with the country facing considerable economic challenges, the Kenny government recruited around 25 advisers at an annual cost of €2.5 million. Now, in a period of relative economic calm, we have 68 ministerial advisers at a cost of €7 million, financial support to the NGO sector amounts to around €6 billion and, to date, the citizens’ assemblies have cost over €4 million. In the wake of recent policy controversies, it is reasonable to ask the question as to whether the marginalisation of the senior Civil Service has had a detrimental effect on our system of government and the execution of public policy. In that context, there are clearly serious efficiency and democratic issues at play but certainly the taxpayer cannot be enthusiastic about these major and ever-increasing costs. – Yours, etc,
MARTIN McDONALD,
Terenure,
Dublin 12.