Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together.

In December 2006, the Government approved a major review of the public service by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD. The review has two main objectives, namely, to benchmark the public service in Ireland against comparable countries and, to make recommendations as to future directions for public service reform.

A twin track approach is being taken to the review, namely, a review of the key institutional dimensions in the public sector as a whole and five case studies examining key questions in specific areas including, health and local government services. The terms of reference of the review have been published and are available on the Department's website. A high level steering group of senior officials chaired by the Secretary General of my Department is overseeing the review.

While the review is not a detailed audit of individual sectors such as health, education, local government and so on, it is examining the effectiveness of arrangements through which Government objectives are translated into outputs and outcomes. It is focusing on the connections between the different sectors including, the links between Department offices and local government, health and education sectors with particular focus on the delivery of quality public services.

Separately, a major public consultation undertaken by my Department included an invitation to the general public, social partners and all interested parties to make submissions. My Department has also facilitated dialogue between the OECD and a consultative panel. For the OECD to develop this holistic approach to reviewing the public service as an entity and to apply it in the first instance to Ireland, we have increased our contribution to the OECD on a once-off basis by €490,000 to be paid over the two years 2006 and 2007. I expect the review to be completed by the end of the year and to be published early in 2008. Regarding quality customer service in the public service, the development, promotion and implementation of this initiative has been driven in recent times mainly by two groups: the QCS officers' network and the QCS research group.The QCS officers' network continues to work intensively on the development and promotion of a range of customer service issues, including promotion of the customer charter approach. This is an important initiative whereby public service organisations publicly commit to service standards and report on progress made. The QCS officers' network has met four times so far this year and is due to meet again in the coming weeks.

Similarly, the QCS research group has been active and was involved last year in the development of a major survey of customer satisfaction levels and attitudes towards Civil Service Departments. The research group has met three times so far this year and is due to meet again shortly to discuss the next such customer surveys, which are planned to begin before the end of the year.

A new task force on customer service has also been established to look at the further development of customer charters and various commitments to customer service in the programme for Government. This task force, which is made up of senior officials from Departments, offices and agencies, is chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and will bring forward proposals on how best to enhance and deepen the quality of customer service in key front line areas of the Civil and wider public service.

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