How are we doing? Public Sector Trends 2014
The delivery of sustained reform of the Public Service is one of the key pillars of the Programme for Government and central to the rationale for the establishment of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) in 2011. Considerable effort has since gone into implementing the Government’s first Public Service Reform Plan in 2011 and its successor, the Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016. Do we know if our efforts are paying off? Is there evidence that our programme of reform is working?
Public Sector Trends 2014 by Dr Richard Boyle is the latest in the IPA’s State of the Public Service series of papers, which seeks to provide evidence-informed research and commentary on key aspects of the Irish Public Service.
The paper recognises the reductions we have implemented in the size and cost of the Public Service, noting that the numbers employed in the Public Service have fallen by around 10%. This is during a time of significant additional demands on our public services, caused by demographic and other pressures:
- Our general population increased by around 350,000 between 2006 and 2011;
- Nearly 1.5 million people were in receipt of a weekly social protection payment at the end of 2013, 21% higher than 2008;
- There are more than 500,000 more medical card holders now than in 2008;
- The number of primary school pupils have increased by nearly 10% (some 50,000) since 2007.
Dr Boyle’s research points to the World Bank indicator of government effectiveness, ranking Ireland 9th in the EU in 2012, maintaining an improvement every year since 2009. Similarly, surveys of business executives rank Ireland 3rd in the EU in 2014, behind Finland and Sweden, for quality of public administration. Ireland is also seen has having one of the least burdensome bureaucracies in the EU, behind only Finland. The paper also shows that performance in the health and education areas is either at or slightly above EU averages. Most of the other indicators quoted by Dr Boyle also show good performance by Ireland as well as evidence of improvement over time.
How has this been achieved, given the financial constraints and demand pressures we have been operating under? I believe the answer lies in the strong focus we have placed on the delivery of our programme of Public Service Reform. We are now in a position to reinvest the savings we have earned from reform into new and improved services – the “Reform Dividend”. It is also a testament to the flexibility, hard work and total commitment of public servants.
Of course, Dr Boyle’s research also identifies some weaknesses and challenges for the Public Service. For instance, our ranking in terms of regulatory quality shows work is still needed to fully restore confidence in our regulatory system following the banking crisis.
The paper also notes a dramatic fall in the level of trust in government since the economic crisis. In this regard, the Government is implementing a suite of political reforms to restore public trust and confidence in the State. Legislation has been enacted in respect of Freedom of Information, Whistleblowing and to extend the powers of the Ombudsman. Legislation in respect of Lobbying is passing through the Oireachtas. We are also working on a new Ethics framework and we are progressing implementation of our Open Government Partnership National Action Plan.
Further to this, the Civil Service Renewal Plan, launched last month, brings together the work of the Independent Panel on Strengthening Civil Service Accountability and Performance and the work of the Civil Service Renewal Taskforce. The Plan sets out a new vision and action plan to deliver a major change programme within 3 years.
I welcome the IPA’s contribution to this important debate. The drive for reform continues across the Public Service, in all Departments, Sectors and Public Bodies. I believe that we must continue to improve our performance and this will be reflected in these trends for 2015 and beyond.
Robert Watt, Secretary General, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

