Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I have already brought forward initiatives relating to the budget that mean the Deputy and others in committees can look at output statements and examine whether we are getting the outputs Departments set for themselves at the beginning of the year. I have unified the budget process considerably and I would have thought there would be some acknowledgement of change in this area. If this is to be ignored then that is fine.

It is clear that as we seek to manage the public finances and understand the requirements of the situation in the short to medium term, decisions will be needed across the board on a range of issues. We are talking about further public sector reform and the OECD report is due on Monday. I believe it will set out a good analysis, in terms of benchmarking, of the performance of the Civil Service and public service compared to others and will suggest improvements. In a unionised environment, on the basis of partnership, we must also recognise the need to get improvements and agreements in place that can be provided for in the context of the pay negotiations we are now embarking on. We must get on this agenda and bring about improvements. There have been improvements but no one is suggesting we are in a satisfactory position, given the expectations of our citizens. The agenda will continue.

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