THE CABINET has agreed to establish an implementation body to examine the report on public service reform drawn up by the OECD, which is to be published on Monday.
However, it is understood that not all recommendations will be put in place in the immediate term.
It is expected that on Monday, the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Minister for Finance Brian Cowen will welcome the OECD report, which calls for greater staff mobility within the public service, greater integration of services and improved governance.
It is understood that the implementation group will be asked to determine which recommendations should be introduced in the immediate, medium and long terms.
The Irish Times revealed earlier this week that the report would recommend that there should be greater staff mobility between the Civil Service, State agencies and local authorities.
The report says that increasing mobility will require the public service to remove the traditional divide between the Civil Service, local authorities and State agencies to create a unified public service labour market.
It will also say that this is a necessary step for the effective implementation of the Government's controversial decentralisation programme.
The OECD report will also recommend the establishment of a new Senior Public Service or Senior Executive Service.
It says that this move would "facilitate the development of specific opportunities for careers across the different parts of the public service".
The report also suggests pay reform, including the introduction of pay bands rather than specific pay scales, and it expresses concern at the implications of the Government's decentralisation programme.
It proposes that the Government could "replace discrete levels in the pay scales with pay bands in sectors and/or agencies that are deemed ready, and authorise departments or agencies to set individual pay within the relevant band".
The report also expresses concern at the implications of the Government's decentralisation programme.
It says that the plan to move a number of departments and agencies out of Dublin is changing the public service landscape.
"These changes have implications for the public service's ability to attract and retain skills, to maintain networks and a coherent approach to policy formulation and to maintain a common public service culture," it says
The OECD report says that the Government needs to find a new reform agenda that focuses on value for money while maintaining the most important elements of its political culture and values.
It also highlights a proliferation of State agencies over recent years.
It says that in the absence of proper governance structures and performance incentives, this has led to further fragmentation and reduced transparency.
