· As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I recently assumed responsibility for the Senior Public Service, and I am very pleased to have this opportunity to speak to you today for the first time. I know that this event was scheduled to coincide with tomorrow’s conference of Ambassadors and Heads of Mission and I am particularly pleased that so many of you could join us.
· The creation of a Senior Public Service is a commitment in the Programme for Government because we recognise that a key to public service reform is supporting leadership at senior levels. I am personally committed to making the Senior Public Service a reality.
· You know better than anyone the scale of the problems we face as a country. The Comprehensive Spending Review is underway and by end July, I should have final reports on options for achieving fiscal objectives, realigning spending with Programme for Government priorities and public service reform. The Review will set the blueprint for our public services in the years to come, and it is profoundly important that we get it right. Nobody would wish for the situation in which we find ourselves, but if we make the difficult decisions now, and on our own terms, we can fight our way out of this economic crisis. This is essential if we are to restore international confidence in Ireland’s capacity to run its own affairs, and I commend the work that Ambassadors are doing on a daily basis in getting this message across to an international audience. Just as important is restoring public confidence in, and support for, the public service here at home.
· This isn’t just about cuts. Our challenge, as leaders serving the public interest, is to mould opportunities from adversity. To formulate a new vision for the public service. That doesn’t mean we attach any less importance to key services: to educating our children; caring for our sick and elderly; providing a stable and equitable environment for business. But it does mean we must be innovative in how we provide those services and measure their effectiveness. The price of inefficiency will be paid by the recipients of those services. We owe it to them to be pragmatic in our approach. We should buy-in private sector help when it makes sense to do so. We should look at new channels for delivery. There is significant scope for providing more services online, not just for cost reasons, but because that’s what people now expect. We have made progress on shared services for the finance function and similar work is being undertaken on consolidating HR transactions across the civil service.
· But much more could and must be done. We need public servants to be innovative and creative as well as ruthless in cutting out waste. That can’t just be dictated from the centre. We have to tap into the significant level of front-line expertise that exists in the public service, to genuinely listen to and support good ideas.
· There have already been real and significant examples of change under the Croke Park Agreement, such as the transfer of the community welfare service to the Department of Social Protection. This is a example of how we can deliver services around the needs of the citizen rather than on the basis of old demarcations. The Implementation Body under the Agreement will report in a few weeks and I am confident that it will show we are on the right track in terms of savings in the paybill and the ongoing delivery of services with fewer staff.
· Change must come at all levels. We have spoken for years about performance and accountability, but legislation has not reflected the reality of responsibilities as between Ministers and senior civil servants. Both the Public Service Management Act and the Ministers and Secretaries Act will be replaced with a reformulated code of laws that clearly delegate responsibilites in a real and meaningful way. These, too, are necessary changes to support the effective delivery of public services.
· Public servants must be the subjects and not the objects of change. We need to be serious about reform, including how we support you as leaders of change and members of the Senior Public Service.
· Maria Maguire will be speaking later about various approaches to the Senior Public Service in other countries. They share a number of characteristics:
- the promotion of a shared leadership culture to support joint problem solving;
- the clear identification of competencies required;
- a focus on what current and future needs are;
- bridging gaps through a structured programme of mobility and development;
- career planning at an individual level and succession planning across the system;
- performance management at an individual and collective level.
· I don’t think anyone would disagree that there is considerable scope for change in the Irish public service. There is an appetite across the system for a more structured approach to senior management – in how we fill vacancies; how we manage succession; and how we facilitate mobility at senior levels.
· Where do we start? I will bring proposals to Government shortly on the governance arrangements and policy framework under which the Senior Public Service will operate. We need to be realistic but the fact that we can’t do everything at once shouldn’t be an excuse for doing nothing. I want to see early progress in the civil service. But it’s essential that we look beyond the civil service to what needs to be done in the wider public service. I know that there are legislative and logistical issues to be addressed, but there are simple things we can do immediately, not least bringing colleagues together with you at future events such as this.
· I want to facilitate early mobility at Assistant Secretary level. Mobility isn’t the only or the most important attribute of the Senior Public Service, but it is a very visible sign that the SPS is no longer just a concept, but a reality. Mobility will support individual development by giving opportunities across a range of policy and operational functions. It will also have benefits for our system as a whole, supporting shared values, a more collaborative culture and a more rational approach to matching individuals who have particular skills to priority needs. The SPS Secretariat will write to you in the coming days seeking expressions of interest in mobility. The intention is that people will come back by end June, indicating their preferences and that we will put the first moves in place by the Autumn. As I indicated earlier, I will bring proposals to Government shortly in relation to the SPS and this will include a protocol on mobility. I don’t doubt that there will be challenges in this process of balancing the needs of Departments, individuals and the system as a whole, but a start needs to be made.
· In addition, I want to see a situation where vacancies that arise at Assistant Secretary level can be opened up in the first instance to expressions of interest by current Assistant Secretaries. If it’s not possible to fill the vacancy through this process, it will be filled in the normal way by TLAC. This will require clear criteria and a robust process, on which work is now commencing. It won’t be possible to do this in every case, as there would be a neverending cascade of vacancies but it will be possible to strike a balance between mobility and promotion in terms of how we fill vacancies. This will open up opportunities in a very real way to serving Assistant Secretaries.
· I recognise that there are particular challenges in relation to mobility for those serving in diplomatic posts. This issue will need to be considered in consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs.
· Development opportunties for senior civil servants have been scant and ad hoc in recent years. We need to address this though a comprehensive programme of training and development. A crucial element in senior management development is one-to-one support though coaching and mentoring. The evidence from other jurisdictions, the private sector and indeed the public sector in Ireland is that coaching can make a significant contribution to higher levels of performance, increased job satisfaction and career development. I am therefore pleased to announce that we will bring forward proposals in the near future for a coaching programme. I want the SPS to have access to a panel of experienced and credible senior individuals from the private and public sector, from which participants can select on the basis of their individual needs. This investment in the development of our senior people will yield a significant return in terms of supporting greater personal effectiveness and leadership.
· I understand that the SPS website will go live in the coming days. As well as public pages, this will provide a secure extranet for sharing information, including a searchable address book of all SPS members. It will also support the secure uploading and storage of personal data necessary to support the future development of the SPS.
· The Senior Public Service is an important element in the Government’s programme of public service reform. We exhort others to change, to do things differently, to take on new challenges. Change must also come at the top. The Senior Public Service offers important opportunities and challenges. I look forward to working with all of you to deliver change, so that we can better deliver what the country needs now and into the future.