Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The task force on the public service established by the Taoiseach has been preparing an action plan for the public service and its recommendations will be considered by the Government in November.

In regard to public service pay and numbers, we must do more with less. Pay rates are a function of agreed negotiations. Our public servants, including teachers, doctors and nurses, often of the highest calibre, enjoy very favourable pay and working conditions by international standards. As economic conditions worsen, those enjoying protected status need to contribute in a broader sense to the greater good of the wider economy. Payroll costs are a function of staff numbers. One of the most limiting factors I have found in my short time as a Minister is the lack of flexibility in re-allocating staff resources to the areas of greatest need. This has to change. We can no longer afford the increases in numbers we have seen in the past decade. Where there are clear staff surpluses in certain areas, or where policy priorities change, staff numbers must be correspondingly reduced or reassigned.

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