‘Unaccountable’ Bord Snip under fire

THE Government was yesterday criticised for the lack of accountability of the membership of An Bord Snip Nua.

At the Irish Congress of Trade Unions conference in Tralee, ICTU general secretary David Begg told Taoiseach Brian Cowen: “It is often said that if you are a good gardener you should get your worst enemy to prune your roses. I don’t think this really applies to the public service. If you think of some of the people who are foremost in that particular committee they are people who have a long and established track record of philosophical criticism of the public service. They don’t actually believe in it and there is no one on that committee who will suffer in anyway as a result of the cutbacks it recommends.”

Mr Cowen had defended the work of An Bord Snip, saying that Ireland needed a public service that carried the confidence of the wider society.

He said the Government had already made it clear to unions that difficult budgetary decisions would have to be taken later this year.

“The report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes will contribute to that process.

“I am anxious that the Government’s decisions should also be informed by the outcome of these negotiations on the future of the public service. More efficient public services are in all our interests — Government, trade unions and the citizen. This unprecedented crisis calls for an unprecedented and imaginative response from us all. I would ask that you reflect on the need for change in that context.”

Mr Cowen was asked whether and when the outcome of An Bord Snip would be made public.

He said there was some suggestion that Government was in some way trying to close off options for people.

“It is quite the opposite. We want the people to know, to the greatest extent possible, what the range of options are,” he said. “It would always be our intention that people are informed to the greatest extent possible — it is the best way of ensuring that people understand the approach of Government and why it has to look at various issues it wouldn’t normally have to.”

However, he said the Government needed tobe given time to assess the contents of the Bord Snip report.

“I think it is important to point out that given the challenges the country is facing that we have an informed public debate on the basis for which the McCarthy committee is going to ask us to look at all spending programmes and public service numbers.”