John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I am convinced that the idea behind benchmarking is good, as is the idea of decentralisation. The Minister of State is involved in that. The implementation of both of these ideas, however, has been an unmitigated disaster. A strong case can be made for a new round of benchmarking or a new mechanism for a real reform agenda for public services. The problem with benchmarking was a lack of initiation of such a reform agenda. That golden opportunity was missed by the Government, but another opportunity may arise in the near future to start this reform agenda. My main charge is that the Government failed to introduce any reform package when benchmarking was implemented.

New thinking needs to come about on how public services are delivered. A more competitive and enterprising drive needs to be included. Innovation must be embraced and those who achieve excellence should be rewarded. That is crucial. Many people believe, rightly or wrongly, that initiative within the public services is not sufficiently rewarded. I hold this view. The Minister of State and the Government must ensure that excellence in practice be significantly rewarded to facilitate delivery of better public services to the consumer. No taxpayer would have any qualms about significantly rewarding people who are doing a good job. That perception did not exist in the case of benchmarking. I would welcome any steps taken by the Government to ensure that people doing a good job in the public services are well paid. A formal structure should be put in place for this.