Professor Niamh Hardiman:

The Civil Service must be very much at the disposal of the State in the context of the implementation of public policy. That is its purpose. Having a good, effective and efficient Civil Service is terribly important. Both the efficient and distributive institutions of the public service can work well or they can work badly.

The Civil Service has a responsibility to be able to draw on expertise in order to be in a position to support the development of good policy. One of the areas that has come under scrutiny in recent years is the dearth of technical economic expertise in the Department of Finance. There were many hugely competent individuals within the Department who had a great deal of such expertise but the kind of structured professional training required was not in good supply. We need to ensure we cultivate the necessary skills and specific competences as well as encouraging appropriate relationships - that we think of as being reflective of good public sector practice - in the context of co-operation with and distance from Ministers.