Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Like the Taoiseach, I am not besotted with the latest gadgetry from the private sector. In respect of customer charters and evaluations carried out in the public sector, has this not simply created another tier of paperwork? If one calls a Garda station, one wants a garda to appear. One does not want to be sent a copy of the customer charter, or if one contacts a Department, one wants to receive a service from it. Has this method of reforming the public sector, which involves the use of charters, evaluations and so on, not simply created a new culture of box ticking where, instead of delivering the service directly to the member of the public who asks for it, one must make sure the procedures are all being followed and that the boxes are all ticked so that it complies with whatever charter or evaluation document must be complied with?

I return to this simple idea that in a country of 4.25 million people, should it not be possible to have a service culture in the public service generally that holds that the job is to provide the service to the public as quickly and efficiently as possible. I believe this culture exists in many areas of the public sector and among probably the great majority of public servants. I am concerned that we are creating a parallel universe in the public service which is about complying with charters and evaluation documents and ticking boxes, and we are spending more time doing that than delivering the service to the public. That is a complaint I hear repeatedly from public servants — even nurses in hospitals — who find the amount of time they spend on paperwork is taking away from the time to provide direct services to patients, for example.

See this speech in context