Reform of Public Service Appointments

[hiker]

"The time is long past when senior appointments should not only be considered a preserve of those already in the service, but should be wide open to those with suitable qualifications and with appropriate experience in the private sector of business and commerce. Complacency can only result in the present system where basically "those on the outside of the system need not apply". Senator Ciaran Cannon, Leader of Progressive Democrats.

Full text here.

Interesting concept on recruiting top management material from outside the civil service. Professor Drumm is an "outsider" so to speak and he is the only one I can think of at the moment.

Are there other non-civil service people in charge of Government Departments and agencies?

[myk]

"The time is long past when senior appointments should not only be considered a preserve of those already in the service, but should be wide open to those with suitable qualifications and with appropriate experience in the private sector of business and commerce. Complacency can only result in the present system where basically "those on the outside of the system need not apply". Senator Ciaran Cannon, Leader of Progressive Democrats.

Full text here.

hmmm..well he is going in the right direction, unfortunately he identifies the problem being that civil servants get promoted, I think the real problem is when people get appointed to state boards without any official vetting process. Of course Cannon can't really discuss this as he was appointed to his current job in the Seanad on a similar basis...

[Rich OC]

Fully agree.

Side-by-side with this reform should also be the removal of all public appointments from politicians -especially the appointment of the Boards of Public Bodies.

[Sidewinder]

You've been in power for 11 years, oversaw a massive increase in numbers, bureaucracy and waste, helped push through the Benchmarking scam, and have actively had an agenda of running down public services to the point they get so bad you can force through croneyist scams for your mates on the basis that "only the private sector can save us now!"

And now you want to talk about public sector reform? Away with ye, ya shower of gombeen chancers.

[Sligoboy]

You've been in power for 11 years, oversaw a massive increase in numbers, bureaucracy and waste, helped push through the Benchmarking scam, and have actively had an agenda of running down public services to the point they get so bad you can force through croneyist scams for your mates on the basis that "only the private sector can save us now!"

And now you want to talk about public sector reform? Away with ye, ya shower of gombeen chancers.

Applause as always.

[adamirer]

You've been in power for 11 years, oversaw a massive increase in numbers, bureaucracy and waste, helped push through the Benchmarking scam, and have actively had an agenda of running down public services to the point they get so bad you can force through croneyist scams for your mates on the basis that "only the private sector can save us now!"

And now you want to talk about public sector reform? Away with ye, ya shower of gombeen chancers.

Exactly... The only ones with any credibility to talk about reforms in the current government are the greens. What the PD/FF gov did with decentralisation is a colossal scandal which the public simply don't understand and are already beginning to see the signs of damage from.

[Pauli]

You've been in power for 11 years, oversaw a massive increase in numbers, bureaucracy and waste, helped push through the Benchmarking scam, and have actively had an agenda of running down public services to the point they get so bad you can force through croneyist scams for your mates on the basis that "only the private sector can save us now!"

And now you want to talk about public sector reform? Away with ye, ya shower of gombeen chancers.

The most toxic of these scams is to be found in the health service where the "thinking" (one hesitates to call it a political philosophy) of running the service into the ground for private sector/commercial medicine gain gathers apace as Harney whores out our health service to American profiteers. Who exactly voted for this "policy" in the form we are seeing now in practice??

[The Earl of Desmond]

The Greens have been in power almost a year now - exactly how long do they need before they change a single thing?

They have talked alot but they haven't actually changed anything - they've been waiting to get in power for 30 years so you'd think they'd have the policies ready to go for when they did get it.

Instead of waiting a little bit longer to get into power and actually change things they took the first chance to be near power they got and have done nothing with it.

If paying your TV licence online is the best that tosser Ryan can do tafter a full year in office then we're doomed.

[garlandgreen]

"The time is long past when senior appointments should not only be considered a preserve of those already in the service, but should be wide open to those with suitable qualifications and with appropriate experience in the private sector of business and commerce. Complacency can only result in the present system where basically "those on the outside of the system need not apply". Senator Ciaran Cannon, Leader of Progressive Democrats.

A bit like appointments to the Senate

[hiker]

Fully agree.

Side-by-side with this reform should also be the removal of all public appointments from politicians -especially the appointment of the Boards of Public Bodies.

I am inclined to agree, although there have been some good appointments I'm sure, but it does smack of political patronage.

I wonder how this policy might be carried out?

Interview boards?
Headhunting?