Restrictive clauses impediment to progress

TUESDAY’S launch of the joint Fine Gael/Labour proposal to clarify the respective roles and responsibilities of both ministers and civil servants and also to set ministerial performance targets is to be welcomed as a step in the right direction.

However, Wednesday's announcement by the Civil Service Arbitration Board that the outsourcing of any function carried out by full-time public servants eg, driver testing is banned under the terms of the Sustaining Progress agreement suggests that a far more wide-reaching and fundamental reform of the management of the public service is required.

At a time when Government was waffling on about the benefits of bench-marking, the improved flexibility, efficiency, value for money, etc, someone was agreeing this incredibly restrictive clause in Sustaining Progress.