Civil staff to be quizzed in department ‘health checks’

MORE THAN 6,000 public servants will be surveyed over the coming weeks as the Taoiseach drives ahead with big “health checks” of government departments.

Flaws in department actions and reforms are part of the significant review, announced by Bertie Ahern last year.

Reviews have begun in three departments.

Department officials and staff in the departments of transport, enterprise, trade and employment as well as agriculture will be quizzed in the coming weeks.

Surveys will include 4,400 employees under Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan, 1,200 under Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin as well as 600 officials in Transport Minister Noel Dempsey’s department.

The review, known as the Organisational Review Programme, will eventually be published.

Mr Ahern is keen to evaluate any flaws in departments at the same time as an international review of the public service in Ireland is under way by the OECD in Paris. This will benchmark Ireland’s public service against other European countries.

A tender advertised over the weekend stated: “The Organisational Review Programme is intended to examine the capabilities of departments in a number of key areas, focusing on their ability to deal effectively with future challenges and changes in direction.”

The cabinet backed the “health checks” of departments last April, but the first group of civil servants will only become involved in the review at the end of this month.

A total of 6,200 civil servants will reveal opinions on “leadership” issues, among other areas.

During a summit last year, Mr Ahern stressed he wanted, as the head of his company, the Government, to see more joined-up work between the private and public sectors as part of the review.

“From my perspective as CEO, I intend to see this rigorous health check of organisational capacity being applied and adapted across the wider public service.

“As CEO, I want to see the leadership capabilities of the public service fully developed. I want greater mobility and openness across the full spectrum of the public service — and between the private and public sectors.”

The review will be overseen by a committee made up of business leaders, department secretary- generals and is chaired by Dermot McCarthy, secretary-general at the Department of the Taoiseach.