Sir, – Martin Wall lists the plethora of new government departments being proposed by the political parties as remedies for the failings of our public service (“Parties propose significant public administration reform”, News, November 18th). He cites, for example, “a full Ministry for Disabilities and a Minister of State for Loneliness . . . a new Department of Infrastructure . . . and the establishment of a Department of Domestic Affairs”.
While structural changes, designed to tackle multidimensional challenges, may be called for, they will not achieve their intended purpose, unless accompanied by major improvements on the technocratic and managerial competence of senior public servants.
We have had a Department of Children for 20 years, but the Children’s Ombudsman feels compelled to take to the media on a regular basis to plead for joined-up thinking and action among the various departments, agencies and NGOs, to prevent children falling between the cracks. A new department alone won’t do it.
The 2006 OECD Review of the Irish public service was entitled Towards an Integrated Public Service, a title that pinpointed the perennial challenge of delivering joined-up government, whatever departmental structures you put in place.
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By all means reshuffle the departments to provide stronger focus to important new challenges, but unless there is a step-change improvement in managerial competence and culture of the senior public service, these structural innovations will make little difference.
It is high time for a new, radical, independent review of the public service to address technocratic shortcomings which necessitate extensive use of costly consultants; the impacts of digitisation, such as pervasive hybrid working; the intense competition in hiring talented people; the continuing lack of personal accountability; weak financial management and governance; and the culture of turf protection, reluctance to cross-institutional boundaries, and inertia that militate against an integrated public service. – Yours, etc,
EDDIE MOLLOY,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Fine Gael’s “Acorn Savings Account” scheme that proposes to redistribute taxpayers’ money upwards to further enrich the already well-off is, without doubt, the grottiest and most offensive election promise to emerge so far (News, November 17th). If Fine Gael were seriously concerned for the wellbeing of the nation’s children, it would spend the money it proposes to splurge on this scheme to address the shameful level of hardship that many children currently have to endure. And the numbers are stark.
Some 260,000 children are currently experiencing deprivation with nearly 5,000 living in emergency accommodation. There are over 8,000 children on long waiting lists to see a psychologist, with 500 on a Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (Camhs) waiting list for over a year.
Add to that the thousands of children who turn up for school hungry, the many living in households that suffer frequent power disconnections being unable to keep a prepay meter in credit, and Fine Gael’s concern for the wellbeing of many of our children begins to ring very hollow indeed. – Yours, etc,
JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Co Sligo.
Sir, – I found the recent Fine Gael manifesto to be eye-catching with a promise to open a savings account for every child from birth.
The Fine Gael leader Simon Harris was saying that what he wanted to do was to try and encourage savings‚ and that of course would in essence be a Fine Gael sort of ideology.
Ostensibly Fine Gael are going to give €1,000 to every newborn, and €1,500 to people who are less well-off.
Mr Harris went on to say that if parents want to, they can put in €2,000 a year, every year until their child is 18, at an interest rate of around 4 per cent.
He did say that that this would benefit the richer in society, the people who have resources to do this, but he felt there was something in it for everyone.
Another eye-catcher from the Fine Gael manifesto was the €1 billion that Fine Gael pledges to invest in order to increase services and reduce the waiting lists for children with disabilities and special education.
The Fine Gael leader did say that not enough progress had been made when it came to this sector.
I found it emboldening to glean that he was going to double the training places for speech and language therapists in order to get those waiting lists down.
It was interesting to hear Simon Harris saying that he was going to give a commitment that should he be in the next government, he would be on top of this issue.
Why wasn’t this done by Mr Harris as Taoiseach?
Another eye-catching part of their manifesto was to say that no one on the average wage would have to pay the higher rate of tax.
Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe said that such financial promises could be made, even if there are some tailwinds coming our way.
A wise man once said: “The promises of yesterday are the taxes of today.”– Yours, etc,
JOHN O’BRIEN,
Clonmel,
Co Tipperary.
Sir, – I had a slight concern that the Apple windfall receipts would be squandered given the extraordinarily wasteful expenditure on a bike shed and security hut.
Having reviewed the various manifestos of all the political parties, my concern could no longer be characterised as slight. – Yours, etc,
PAUL WALSH,
Skerries,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Since the start of the general election campaign, all the main candidates and parties have engaged in a frenzy of promise-making. Nearly everything is on offer and nothing seems to be impossible. You could conclude that the best outcome for the electorate would be a national government comprising all the parties, where they would be obliged to deliver on their most extravagant promises.
Of course, that won’t happen and hopefully sanity will prevail.
Maybe the main parties need to coalesce with a certain south Dublin Independent who is offering “Common sense” and “Wisdom” on his election posters. These seem to be in short supply at the moment. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN CULLEN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – As campaigning in the election ramps up, the airwaves are becoming ever more frantic and frenetic, with voices demanding to be heard. Plans for housing, childcare, seniors, transport, climate action and so on. And that’s only the presenters!
Yes, we are lucky to live in a democracy, but when it all gets too much, thank God for Lyric FM. – Yours, etc,
RUTH GILL,
Birr,
Co Offaly.