Stop the brain drain in the civil service

The civil service may indeed serve Ireland very well, but in the hectic business of public life, nobody has asked one obvious question.

Why impose an arbitrary limit of seven years on the maximum term that civil servants may serve as secretaries general of government departments? They then have to retire, generally with a pension of about €100,000 per year and a golden handshake of about €300,000, give or take a couple of thousand. Many of them are still under 60 years of age.

It is bad policy to get rid of good people in the prime of their working lives. Continuity is a key to good governance and social stability. Youth is not always the best substitute for experience.

At the stroke of a pen, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform could allow all secretaries general who enjoy good health to continue to work until the age at which most people retire. They could still receive no more than their maximum salaries. Our brains are our greatest assets. Let us end the brain drain.

Michael Mernagh

Raheens

Carrigaline

Co Cork