Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I am talking about the Civil Service and not the wider public service, although there have been huge improvements in the latter as well. My Department is involved in driving the quality service initiatives. The sections in my Department that deal with this, deal with people across the Civil Service.

For several years, the Civil Service has had declining numbers in the overall management system. It was given a target of 3% in recent years and most areas have achieved it. It is constantly taking on extra work and functions while reducing staff. As a country, our Civil Service is small. It is very small on a pro rata basis compared to most other countries. In fairness to civil servants, it is because they have worked particularly since 1992 to strategically manage their area and to focus on their customers, evaluating what their customers require while taking on a huge amount of services and technology. New technology was embraced with little or no industrial problem or unrest, as has occurred in many other countries. Whether the issues involved relate to business, farmers, the social partners or the general public, the reviews carried out by independent organisations have demonstrated that although the service is not perfect, it has exhibited a constant rate of improvement. That does not mean there are not many other issues to be dealt with.

With regard to where we should go, the QCS research group has been involved in overseeing the management of the recent evaluation of customer charters. Fitzpatrick Associates, the economic consultants, have been engaged to undertake this evaluation independently and they have now put out their survey. The QCS networks are also overseeing a process of promoting customer charters in the wider public service. These charters exist to spell out what staff are doing, how they are doing it and to report on how they got on with it. These are published every year and people can examine them.

Staff are also involved in the Public Service Excellence Awards, the final ceremony of which I have attended along with many others in this House. Individual public servants and civil servants who bring in new efficiencies in their areas can put ideas up for awards. Although awards are not everything, this shows an interest in being able to take a new project and deliver a better service to the public. Many Members have attended the final ceremonies of these awards, where we have seen some 20 schemes put up for case study. There is much happening in that area.

An example of what is ongoing at the moment is that in the health sector, the feasibility of implementing an advisory charter of patients rights, similar to the European charter, is being examined. In the agricultural sector there is a commitment to monitor outcomes being delivered under the farmers' charter and to modify it in light of new findings. There is a commitment in the justice area for the introduction of a Garda charter, setting out targeted Garda response times and the level of service the public can expect.

As part of the significant commitments in local government, there is a commitment to put customer service to the fore and develop a customer charter. There are many other areas now being developed to bring about what the public require, with staff challenging themselves to deliver the service. In most cases such action is not easy. Much of the easier work is probably finished and the technology has been implemented. Key personnel of the Civil Service, including the commissioner and other senior civil servants such as the head of Revenue and the Department of Social and Family Affairs, are working on these issues.

There is a genuine effort to make a good attempt to build on what has been done in recent years and to improve the service to the public.

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