Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I believe that five minutes is plenty. I want to make two proposals to the Taoiseach and Minister for Finance. In this time of unprecedented financial and fiscal challenge, which is affecting every economy in the western world, we need to act in solidarity as a nation. As part of the public reform process the Taoiseach should establish a new Department of public service innovation. The biggest challenge facing the country is the objective of delivering services efficiently and cost-effectively.

I have been fortunate to have served in seven different Departments. The public servants who work there are excellent people who work hard. However, the structures and system in which they operate make things almost impossible. The best civil servants should be drawn from across the spectrum to staff this new Department. People from the private sector who are expert in change management should be introduced in exchange for public servants going out. There should be a radical and fundamental reform of the public service from the top down and more importantly from the bottom up, including the local authorities, HSE and other agencies delivering services. Quangos need to be eliminated. This recession offers an ideal opportunity to undertake innovative work in public service reform. It is the civil and public servants who should lead that. There are no better people to do so.

My second proposal is that the Minister for Finance should invite representatives from Labour and Fine Gael to the Department of Finance and open up the books to let them see the precise situation. This will let them have the opportunity——

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