Seanad debates

Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Adjournment Matters

Library Services Provision

6:20 pm

Photo of Paschal MooneyPaschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to the House and thank him for taking this Adjournment matter. I tabled the motion following concerns expressed to me by library staff in County Leitrim due to a recommendation by the shared services workforce planning group established in January. It was tasked with examining workforce planning requirements and guidelines for the public library service and to develop a framework for the regional resource network.

Decisions have been made but once again Country Leitrim has suffered due to its low population base which was not taken in account by the shared service organisational structure. In fact, three levels of urban centres were identified the lowest of which had a population of over 5,000. Carrick-on-Shannon, the largest town in the county, does not have 5,000 people although it is close to the figure. As a result the new shared service structure means the merger of library services in Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon.

From a Leitrim perspective, a problem arose with comments made in the executive summary of the public library strategy. It mentioned that the overall impact of applying the guidelines differs for each library service in terms of the variation between current or projected senior staff totals. Also, for library services with greater than average numbers of staff exceeding the projected staff complement, the application of a transition phase will enable the rationalisation of numbers.

It also mentioned that the implementation working group will ensure that the programmes of Opportunities for All are implemented as quickly and as effectively as possible and that senior staff structures are realised as soon as possible; the ongoing impact on the library service arising from the considerable number of current vacancies at city county librarian status is expedited; and the momentum of the shared services and workforce planning exercise continued. However, none of that seems to have happened and that is the reason I raised this matter on the Adjournment.

There has been no county librarian in Leitrim since the retirement of Seán Ó Súilleabháin some years ago and the acting chief librarian retired some time back which means the library service is headed up by an acting senior executive. The county has nine branch libraries which is the largest number of branch libraries in the proposed merger even though Leitrim has suffered from a drop in population. I am interested to learn what the Minister's thinking is on the matter, where the new library service headquarters will be located and how the process will work. More importantly, I want him to give an assurance to the staff of Leitrim County Library that their jobs are protected and all the issues related to the merger are clarified sooner rather than later.

Photo of Phil HoganPhil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Public Library Strategy 2013-2017, entitled Opportunities for All, highlights the importance of library services and sets out the way forward for their continued delivery. Its recommendations include a review of the library service organisation and delivery in order to establish more effective and efficient public libraries in the context of local government reform and shared services.

A strategic working group was established by the libraries development committee of the Local Government Management Agency to facilitate the review and identified the need to create an appropriate scale to deliver a modern library service. Overall, the strategic working group's review found that in order for the public library service to be in a position to maximise service delivery opportunities and achieve best outcomes in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and customer service, the current structures of organisations, workforce and service delivery are in need of some reform.

The review also determined that efficiencies could be achieved through a shared services approach to the delivery of library services in line with other existing and newly-formed shared service models in local government. In order to achieve this the working group determined the following: some new shared services structures should be established for library authorities; a proposed minimum population target of 100,000 would be an appropriate basis for determining a library shared services structure which would be in line with the Local Government Efficiency Review Report 2010; and shared services structures for affiliated cities and counties should also be established to deliver a single management structure with consequent resource efficiencies; that in order to implement the proposed minimum population standards six new shared service structures would be required, creating a total of 22 library services; and all authorities with populations under 100,000 should be realigned to provide new structures serving a population in excess of 100,000. The latter applies to Sligo, Roscommon and Leitrim.

The working group is continuing its deliberations and is in the process of consulting with all stakeholders. No decisions have been made on the new structures or mechanisms for new reorganised library services. However, these will be based on change management best practice and minimising disruption to staff having regard to logistics and national policy agreements. The working group is also recommending that the library service will continue to maintain local branding. The overall objective of the reorganised services is to enhance further the excellent service that the library service provides to the public and to provide the scale to enable more opportunities for growth and development.

Efficiencies are being pursued in the management of library services. I can confirm that there will be no diminution of the services provided. The Opportunities for All strategy identified the good work being done by all those involved, including the staff, in the library service despite challenges and difficulties and identified that an excellent community service is being delivered on the ground.

Photo of Paschal MooneyPaschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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I am grateful to the Minister for his response but I am disappointed. However, there was one nugget of good news in the third last paragraph. My question was specifically about the uncertainty among the library staff in Leitrim who are concerned about their future and the future of the library service. The Minister has gone some way in reassuring us about the continuation of the service provided by the library. However, he only mentioned that the working group will continue its deliberations on staffing arrangements. Most of the other elements of his response are more or less the same as what I put on record and his response took a lot from the executive summary. I appreciate that he can only operate within what he knows. It seems to me that the working group's deliberations have not yet arrived on his desk. Can he give me a timeline for it? Since January there has been uncertainty but that situation should not be allowed to continue. There must be a timeline provided. Perhaps he will give some indication about it that I could pass on to staff. In his response he could reassure the library staff in Leitrim about their future.

Photo of Phil HoganPhil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Seeking efficiencies is not about a diminution of library services in County Leitrim. Let me give the fire service as an example. In Carlow-Kilkenny, Longford-Westmeath, Laois-Offaly or Sligo-Leitrim there is no need to have the higher paid echelons of staff structures in place. We want people to give a service to the general public on a day-to-day basis, we want to keep the services open and to maintain the opening hours. Local government efficiency requires us to do so in the interest of the public. If the working group does its work properly, in consultation with staff and their representatives, I have no doubt it will work out a very good solution that will provide a good service, and a continued good service in places like Leitrim, but equally to minimise the disruption to staff in the process.