Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government speaks a lot about transparency and accountability, as well as public service reform as mentioned on page 119 of the document specifically. I do not want to address the matter the Tánaiste was discussing in his radio interview last Sunday but, unfortunately, he said about his authority in terms of the public service:

We do not have authority over civil servants. We have no power to reprimand them or discipline them.

Is the Tánaiste aware of his responsibility and authority, given under section 2 of the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924? If he is, is he not aware that he and his fellow Ministers, as the corporations sole, can and should be responsible for disciplining or examining the acts of Secretaries General in particular should misdemeanours occur? The Public Service Management Act 1997 and the Civil Service Regulation Act 1956 do not apply to disciplining them. Is it the Government's position that Secretaries General, earning between €190,000 and €300,000 per year, are, in effect, responsible to nobody when misdemeanours occur, be they impromptu or premeditated?

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