Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)

In the past decade, according to figures provided by the Minister's Department, the number of civil servants has increased from about 36,000 to 53,000, which is an almost 50% increase. In figures provided to me by the HSE with regard to whole-time equivalents, the numbers employed by the HSE have increased from 107,274 to 148,268, a 38.2% increase. We have seen today a report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council that overspending by Departments this year is set to top €2 billion. While I totally agree that, with a growing population, more complex needs and a traditional under-resourcing of certain areas of government and the health service, we need to expand. I have two related questions. How can we ensure that these increases in both staff resources and spending are resulting in improved delivery to citizens? Second, in the event of a global economic downturn, how can we ensure that public current expenditure will be kept under control?

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