Public service reforms 'must not be mixed up with an ideology of privatisation'

The trade union movement’s economic think-tank has pointed to a significant drop in the cost of employing public servants and said reform of the sector must not be mixed up with an ideology of privatisation, commercialisation of public goods or the introduction of private sector processes.

The Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI), referenced OECD figures which showed that, in 2010, total compensation — wages plus employer social contributions — of general government employees here came to 12.3% of GDP compared to the OECD average of 11.1%. By 2014, the cost had fallen to 10% compared to the OECD average of 10.6%.

Tom Healy, NERI director, said neither levels of remuneration, nor the size of the workforce explains how efficient a public service is but he said interpreting the figures it could not be concluded that the Irish public service is bloated or over-paid compared to OECD norms.