Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Most of the issues raised by the Deputy are being examined and substantial improvements are being made. However, I will bring that list to the attention of those who are working on it in my Department.

It is good to see the OECD examining the situation in Ireland because one of its purposes is to benchmark the Irish public service against the best there is, so that where criticisms are made they can be taken on board to improve matters. There are many other systems in place. It always strikes me that when we go to European Councils, the Irish delegation turns up with 15 or 20 officials, while larger countries turn up with several planeloads — 400 or 500 people. The OECD report aims to benchmark the Irish public service for the first time against the best there is. It will also analyse how we do things. We will examine the report and take it on the chin. Hopefully, the OECD will see the good things we do and, in addition, we will correct those things the OECD thinks we can do better and more efficiently compared with some sectors in other countries.

See this speech in context