home » media centre » press releases

Kelly attacks Govt failures on value for money

Issued : Wednesday 8 October, 2008

Today in the Seanad, Senator Alan Kelly launched a two-pronged attack on Govt failures to deliver value for taxpayers' money.

Senator Kelly called on the Government to carry out an audit of buildings used by the public service across the country and also to undertake an audit on the effectiveness of the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) amongst senior managers who work in the public service.

"I feel it is necessary that we find out actual numbers on the volume of buildings that this Government are using to accommodate our public service, whether they are owned, leased or rented. Numbers of buildings in use have varied from time to time so now it is necessary that this audit is carried out to see what value the taxpayer is getting. We need to know whether we are being as efficient as possible.

"I'm particularly interested to find out the extent of overlap of use, where one Dept, Agency or Section might be working out of two or more premises. This has become an issue as a result of the failure by the Govt to deliver on the decentralisation scheme, and I'd especially like to know how many buildings are vacant and how much the state is paying in rent for unused or underused buildings.

"In addition, I would like to see an audit on the performance of PMDS amongst senior managers in the public service. This was brought in as part of the pay agreement and I know it is quite rightly being conducted amongst administrative, clerical and executive grade levels or their equivalents in the public service. However, can we be sure, especially in the light of the questions being asked about FAS recently, that it is being conducted satisfactorily for senior managers?

"I believe chief executives, heads of departments and agency chairmen need to lead by example here and ensure that this operates throughout their relevant departments and organisations. I am concerned that this may not be the case and that PMDS is only being rigorously implemented below senior management level. This is not acceptable. The system is for all and should be implemented from the top. How many chairmen have rigorously assessed the performance of their relevant chief executives? Do all chief executives rigorously follow the system in place to assess the performance of their senior managers? Or are they just paying lip service to it?

"I have heard much talk in recent times from this government about the public finances and in turn the public service. They are fixated with it, while missing the point that it is the real economy that has to be addressed. The public service performs a good job but we do need to ensure that this Government is getting value for money in buildings used and that performance measures are properly in place for Senior Managers, many of whom earn quite considerable sums"