John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 130: To ask the Minister for Finance the elements of the report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes that have been implemented to date by his Department; his plans to implement any aspects of the plan in the future; if the overall plan has been assessed by his Department; and if so, his views on the benefits of the plans. [28115/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes (the so-called McCarthy Report) was published in July 2009 and outlined 271 recommendations with potential savings of up to €5.3 billion in a full year along with associated staffing reductions of over 17,300 in public service numbers. The Special Group's Report is advisory in nature. The Special Group's analysis and recommendations have been taken into account in the 2010 Budget and the estimates of expenditure for the year ahead. The Government decided to implement 32 recommendations in full and 89 in part. These savings are estimated to yield some €1.7 billion in 2010 and €1.9 billion in a full year. The Report of the Special Group and its recommendations will continue to inform Government considerations of overall expenditure strategy as well as ongoing structural reform in the public service.

As regards my own Department, the Report recommended that general administration and programme efficiencies amounting to €5 million could be achieved, specifically in the areas of staff numbers, and subventions to the Institute of Public Administration and the Economic and Social Research Institute. In relation to staff numbers, the Report recommended a reduction of some 10%, or 60 posts, by end 2010. At the time of the Report, the authorised number of staff in my Department was approximately 650. The number currently serving is 539.44 (whole-time equivalents). This is already below the level recommended by the Group. The issues of the subventions for the IPA and the ESRI will be considered in the context of my Department's estimate for 2011.

As regards other recommendations in the Report which relate to the possible rationalisation of certain state agencies, the Group considered that the routine investigation functions of the Ombudsman's office are performed at too high a staff grading level (typically at AP level) and that there is scope for this work to be undertaken at lower levels without prejudicing service. The Minister for Finance has asked the Ombudsman to explore this option further.

The report also recommended that Ombudsman/Regulators' Offices should be rationalised within a single Ombudsman Commission. The bodies concerned are the Office of the Ombudsman/Information Commissioner, the Children's Ombudsman, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and the Office of the Commission for Public Service Appointments.

There appears to be a balance of administrative advantage in favour of the merger of the Office of the Commission for Public Service Appointments with the Office of the Ombudsman and in conjunction with the Offices concerned and we are identifying the administrative and legislative measures necessary to give effect to the merger.

Any merger with the remaining Offices mentioned in the recommendation (none of which are under the aegis of the Department of Finance) would need to take account of the diversity of roles of all of the Offices concerned and the need for varying degrees of independence and specialisation in exercising their statutory functions. It is not clear at this stage if it would be feasible, or worthwhile to pursue this option in the short term. It is likely that detailed legislation would be required to give effect to these changes.