Chapter 10:
Action to Modernise the Public Service
Forces of Change
10.1 - The economic environment is now characterised by an unrelenting drive for competitiveness brought about by the increasing globalisation of economic activity and international competition in world markets. Technological advances, which have fuelled much of the growth in globalisation and competition, are continuing apace and show no signs of abating. As a result, the world economy is increasingly dynamic, open and internationally competitive. In turn, this requires the Irish economy to perform to the highest standards if we are to maintain our competitiveness and advance the economic and social well being of our people.
10.2 - Maintaining competitiveness has required the productive sectors of the economy, including the commercial state sector, to be highly flexible and responsive to rapidly changing economic and technological developments. This has given rise, and continues to give rise, to very significant restructuring and reorganisation within the workplace, an acceptance of the ongoing need for change and the development of a capability and a willingness among staff and management to manage the change process on a partnership basis. It has also led to unprecedented reductions in the levels of employment in established industries, including the commercial state sector, and to growth in jobs in the newer electronic industries and services. The overall picture is one of a rapid transition from what is commonly called the industrial age to a new economic era dominated by services industries, which increasingly are information based.
10.3 - The recent NESC conclusions and recommendations in its Strategy into the 21st. Century identified the need for specific restructuring action programmes for each sector of the Public Service if reasonable expectations on the part of public servants are to be reconciled with the country's developmental needs and the public financial constraints within which Ireland must operate in the years ahead.
10.4 - The Council set down a series of sources for change that have acted to cause a rethinking of the role of the Public Service. These include new demands created by social change, heightened consumer awareness of quality of service and new approaches to effective management in the Public Service.
10.5 - The Council made clear its view that the capacity to change and respond to new social demands as they arise is crucial to improving efficiency in the delivery of public services. It sees merit also in the OECD view that a 'selective radical' strategy for implementing Public Service reform may well be the preferred solution since an incremental approach is unlikely to succeed in bringing about fundamental change in behaviour and attitudes and major benefits for the Public Service and the country.
Implications for the Public Service
10.6 - In the past thirty years, the importance and influence of the Public Service in Ireland have grown considerably such that its performance in terms of discharging the business of the State has a very significant impact on overall economic efficiency and competitiveness. In essence, its activities more than ever before affect the operating environment of the productive sectors of the economy. The importance and influence of the Public Service are illustrated by the fact that, in 1996, there are 188,700 people employed in it and the Public Service pay and pensions bill amounts to £4,806 million. Overall Government expenditure, current and capital, now accounts for more than 38 per cent of GNP and employees in Public Services represent some 18 per cent of those at work outside Agriculture. The Public Service makes up a significant proportion of total economic activity and the resources required to fund it consume a substantial share of national income. Its performance, therefore, has significant implications for the efficiency and competitiveness of the Irish economy.
10.7 - The Public Service has not been immune to the changes taking place in the wider economy. It too has faced many challenges and demands for change requiring a capacity for strategic management and a willingness to respond more rapidly to the changing needs and preferences of the recipients of its services. In many areas the Public Service has been adapting to these challenges and demands through improved responsiveness and flexibility in the delivery of services and in meeting the needs of the public. The imperative now is to build on these developments through a concerted and co-ordinated drive to improve further the performance of the Public Service at all levels and in all sectors. Equally, the process of modernisation must ensure that the Public Service responds better to staff aspirations for more fulfilling work and improved career paths and creates an organisational climate conducive to better job satisfaction, motivation and commitment of staff.
Improving the Public Service Contribution to Competitiveness
10.8 - The Government is committed in this Partnership to the continued promotion of policies to achieve high, sustainable economic growth and employment and greater social well being. The successful implementation of these policies is conditional on the Public Service making the maximum contribution to national economic and social development, providing quality services, and employing its available resources to best effect. This demands that the Public Service as a whole develops the capacity to manage strategically, so that it can exploit new opportunities for economic development, to respond flexibly to changing service delivery needs, to deploy resources in a speedy and flexible manner, and to operate cost-effectively through the realisation of appropriate efficiencies and savings.
10.9 - It is widely recognised that achieving the level of performance now required of the Public Service represents a major challenge to public servants at all levels. Governments in EU and OECD Member States are committed to having more effective, efficient and economic ways of delivering programmes and services. As a result, modernisation initiatives are commonplace and, while varying in approach, are all striving to raise performance and provide greater value for money. The Public Service is no exception in this regard and programmes of change such as the Strategic Management Initiative and Delivering Better Government; Shaping a Healthier Future: A Strategy for Effective Healthcare in the 1990s; Charting our Education Future: White Paper on Education; and the outcomes of organisation reviews underway in other sectors constitute a response to the challenges confronting the Public Service.
Delivering Better Government
10.10 - Delivering Better Government, combined with the sectoral strategies, set the strategic direction for the Public Service and the essential principles governing the required changes. In particular. Delivering Better Government sets the overall agenda for the Public Service as a whole and is directed at achieving the twin goals of better Government, in terms of improved service delivery, better quality regulation and more effective management of major national issues, and delivering better Government through ongoing improvements in performance and a clearer focus on achieving objectives. The attainment of these goals requires greater flexibility in the way the Public Service goes about its business and responds to the changing preferences and needs of the public. In this context, organisational structures, administrative and managerial processes, and working practices generally need to be constantly reviewed and adapted as circumstances warrant.
Principles of Change
10.11 - There are a number of key principles which must inform and drive the changes now needed. These are:
Adherence to these principles, and the various organisational strategy statements flowing from them, will ensure a Public Service that is adaptable and responsive to internal and external changes, delivers quality services, is well managed, makes a greater contribution to competitiveness, and provides value for money. To this end, the strategy statements will be implemented in each sector through specific programmes of action drawn up on the basis of a participative approach between management and staff.
10.12 - The principle of quality in the provision of public services is of fundamental importance. This involves the development of a culture directed at ensuring greater ease and simplicity for businesses and the public in accessing services, at giving them a reasonable degree of choice in relation to the methods of service delivery and providing for consultation with and participation by them on a structured basis. It is widely recognised that public support for public services can be strengthened by delivering the highest possible quality of service and by demonstrating greater flexibility and responsiveness in meeting the needs of the public.
10.13 - Another fundamental principle is better management of personnel through a focus on performance, flexibility in work arrangements and the use of resources, and the development and enhancement of the skills and competencies of management and staff at all levels. The key to achieving these goals is the implementation of an effective performance management process. This process will take account of the particular work and organisational needs of each sector and of common grading, pay and conditions arrangements, and will be based on an open, participative approach in the workplace. Implementation will be underpinned by:
10.14 - Putting in place an effective system for managing performance will require:
10.15 - Work is already underway to devise and develop an appropriate system. Issues of recognition and reward, and a constructive approach to the management of performance, including underperformance, are integral parts of this process. This will involve, in particular, an emphasis on a continuous process in which management and staff work together on a specific task or activity, in a planned manner, so that their knowledge, competence and skills are improved.
Partnership Approach
10.16 - It is recognised that successful change must be based on a partnership approach both at the overall Public Service level and within individual organisations. The objective is to achieve joint ownership by management, unions and staff of the entire process. To this end, an adversarial approach to change must be replaced by an open, co-operative process based on effective consultation and participation by all concerned. For the Civil Service, the task now is to develop such an approach by building on the existing arrangements at General and Departmental Councils for progressing and implementing the action programmes arising from the Strategic Management Initiative and Delivering Better Government and on the structures being developed in each Department and Office to engage staff at all levels in the change process. Similar arrangements, tailored to meet the particular needs of each sector, will have to be put in place for the wider Public Service. Appropriate training will also be provided for management, unions and staff to facilitate the development of these arrangements.
