Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I had an opportunity to observe this at close quarters when attending the IMF World Bank meeting in Washington in recent days. Officials there worked in tandem with officials on this side of the Atlantic in preparation for a meeting in Paris. Along with the political leadership given, we have been very well served in underpinning and sustaining our financial system under remarkable pressures. Some people talk about the public service without having any close experience of it.

However, the public service is facing reform, but it is not a short-term exercise. The budget is reducing and amalgamating several agencies. This is not a reflection on the people involved or the good work they have done in the past, but a question of how the work is best carried on in future with the amount of resources available. I am also pleased to say something which is only half comprehended by some organs of opinion and some people in the House. The decentralisation process has been consolidated. Some 6,000 jobs will be decentralised. It was originally planned to relocate approximately 11,000 jobs.

See this speech in context