Sir, – Public sector trade unions have, entirely reasonably, called for the prompt payment of the agreed pay increases for almost 400,000 civil service and public sector workers (News, March 26th). The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform welcomed the endorsement of the deal and said that it will “continue to underpin the ongoing transformation of our public services, allowing reform to continue in a collaborative and co-operative way”. He didn’t call for the prompt delivery of reform.
Your editorial on Tuesday calls for the acceleration of the transformation agenda (“The Irish Times view on the the public sector pay agreement: focus now on improving services”, March 25th).
I have a modest proposal which won’t accelerate anything but might at least provide some assurance to the taxpayer that something is happening.
In Merrion Street, we have two senior Ministers one of whom is, we are told, responsible for public sector reform. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform should be required in September or October to present an annual budget for specific and measurable reforms to be implemented in the following year and should be given regular opportunities to report on performance versus budget.
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I make this suggestion not only to allow the Minister to justify the second half of his ministerial title. It might also contribute to dispelling the widely held belief that necessary additional public expenditures can be financed only by additional taxation or further borrowing. – Yours, etc,
PAT O’BRIEN,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
