Senior Civil Servants Secret Job Cut Plan

[mountainyman]

someone didn't read the article. it specifically stated that the recommendation was to cut the public sector workers from 33,000 to 25,000. this number, as the report states, does not include teachers, nurses, gardai etc it is civil servants and workers in public bodies such as OPW

oh and lay-off the accountants!

Teachers, nurses, doctors, gardai are classic public servants. Perhaps the fellows in the OPW are doing work that's just as important. I don't undestand why administrative staff are slgged off all the time. do you want doctors and gardai to spend all their time in budget meetings?

[hopi watcher]

A quote from the piece,
"They were so concerned their plans would be dismissed that they used outside phone lines to contact the high-powered international think-tank."
This reads like something from the Beano. The Indo is fast becoming a joke and it beggers belief that any rational person would even have read beyond the above quote, let alone lend any credence to it. Can we be a bit more discerning when posting topics for discussion.

[Macy]

First the sindo's Ruddock on the Last Word calling for wholesale privatisations at the bottom of the market, and now this in the indo today. Someone must be eyeing up making a killing on part of the public sector.

[myk]

someone didn't read the article. it specifically stated that the recommendation was to cut the public sector workers from 33,000 to 25,000. this number, as the report states, does not include teachers, nurses, gardai etc it is civil servants and workers in public bodies such as OPW

oh and lay-off the accountants!

Teachers, nurses, doctors, gardai are classic public servants. Perhaps the fellows in the OPW are doing work that's just as important. I don't undestand why administrative staff are slgged off all the time. do you want doctors and gardai to spend all their time in budget meetings?

are you directing your comments at me? did you read my post and the one I was replying to?

[HanleyS]

Have they confirmed that the report was altered at the behest of those who attended the meeting?

Not explicitly, but it is alluded to.

I meant the OECD, not the two-bit hacks employed by the indo.

I'll grant you that.

[adamirer]

A complete non-story by the Indo and totally mis labelled even then in the thread. I mean seriously, are people stupid? And comes out right as negotiations resume today on pay deals. There's three agngles they produce, and just think about it.

The first was that 5 'anonomous' (they wouldn't given their names to OECD) civil servants (out of 33,000), with serious paranoia issues judging by the methods they employed, suggested 8,000 jobs be cut. Senior means nothing. The Indo have repeatedly called HEO grade civil servants 'senior'. They aren't. There was no 'plan' and the OECD didn't take them remotely seriously. As the OECD report factually stated, we have a very low public service employment structure compared to most countries. Decades of experience?? between five workers?? shock horror!!!! These people obviously either want early retirement or are frustrated, like me, at the lack of opportunities in a decentralising civil service. There is no factual or ground basis or back up of the proposal. The indo article is thus based on 'up to five' (sic) civil servants whose grades are not given or verifiable, who meet regularly (over a pint?), unhappy with not being able to do the job as they think it should be done, wanting to get rid of those in their way. Wow.

OECD review co-ordinator Edwin Lau told the Irish Independent: "The common theme from them [the group] was that 'we are not free enough to do our jobs the way we would like to. Our hands are too tied and that is de-motivating'. That message did come through in a number of comments."

wow, show me a person who doesnt feel that in their job....

Second bit was that real senior civil servants saw an early draft of the report and commented on it. And? Point? You telling me that if AIB commissioned a 500k report on how AIB worked that senior management wouldn't be told what to expect and be able to comment on it, raising issues that might not have been thought of? seriously? This is news? The report was based on fact and interviews, by essence it was a consultation drive report, of course ongoing consultation was going on. And th report isn't critical at all, its avery constructive review of both the good and the bad inherent in a non-profit organisation. The report was actually quite complimentary of the services provide compared to the numbers of staff available to deliver them. The OECD go on to say

"There were some cases where there were discussions about what was the appropriate language. But in none of those cases did we get rid of factual statements or even judgments," he said.

Honestly people, this si the usual Indo public service bashing they, esp Keenan, have been engaged in for almost 2 years. Its a pile of bollocks and a non story to typically feed of public fears. Like decentralisation though, civil servants cannot go public and defend themselves, making them a very soft target for media outlets.

[Abaddon]

This Indo article is a fairy story!

"a secret group of senior civil servants"

Pull the other one O'Reilly, what are you getting in exchange for this sh!te.

[True Republican]

It wouldn't surprise me in the least that lazy layabout senior civil servants would try to tone down the OECD findings. The government should fire a lot more than 8,000 civil servants and get them out to work in the efficient private sector. There are probably some civil servants who wouldn't last a month in the private sector. The government needs to trim the public sector by 80,000 not 8,000 across all departments and should privatise all semi state comercial activity. Generous state pensions should be abolished and the trade unions should be kicked out of the public sector. I have zero tolerance for public sector workers with their lifelong job security. Finally they should all take a 5% pay cut like employees have recently done in private sector companies.

[lowtaxireland]

It wouldn't surprise me in the least that lazy layabout senior civil servants would try to tone down the OECD findings. The government should fire a lot more than 8,000 civil servants and get them out to work in the efficient private sector. There are probably some civil servants who wouldn't last a month in the private sector. The government needs to trim the public sector by 80,000 not 8,000 across all departments and should privatise all semi state comercial activity. Generous state pensions should be abolished and the trade unions should be kicked out of the public sector. I have zero tolerance for public sector workers with their lifelong job security. Finally they should all take a 5% pay cut like employees have recently done in private sector companies.

agreed...i am sick of paying for lazy morons who cannot deliver a service.....every time i deal with them there is a problem. this year alone, revenue got my tax details wrong, it took the council 5 weeks to deliver a bin, the same council tried to fine me (rescinded after I threatened to sue), and it took alomst 3 weeks to get basic transcripts from UCD. I am sick of seeing my money being used to put more cushions under their a.rses. I want sackings and pay cuts for these clowns.

[lyingeyes98]

Secret group!

They would have been easy to spot as they were the ones who weren't on a coffee break.