Debate is needed on shape of our public service – but it is not as bloated as many may think
WHEN Desmond Nugent (Letters, Irish Independent, October 1) states that Ireland has “a large and bloated public service”, readers should note that this is his personal opinion and is at variance with all the known facts.
In reality OECD statistics for 2017 show that just 14pc of the Irish workforce is employed in the public service. This is lower than almost all other European countries.
In comparison, the figure for Denmark is 29pc, Sweden 28pc, France 22pc, Belgium 19pc and Britain 17pc.
Only for Germany, at 11pc, is the figure significantly lower.
Also Mr Nugent’s assertion that “in the health service...90pc of all the money spent is not spent on treatments or operations but on salaries” is wildly inaccurate.
Government figures show that the total public expenditure on health in Ireland during 2017 was €15.5bn, while the HSE’s total pay bill last year amounted to €5.35bn.
This means that salaries account for some 34.5pc of total monies spent, a figure compatible with other countries.
The quality and efficiency of our public services is very highly regarded internationally.
Figures published by the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) in 2017 show that the Irish public service is seen as the most professional and least politicised in Europe, and one of the least bureaucratic and least corrupt.
More than 60pc of the public and half of business users surveyed see the civil service as efficient.
And business executives rate the quality of our public administration as sixth in the EU28.
By all means let’s have a debate on public service numbers and spending.
But let this debate be informed by facts and evidence, and not by lazy, uninformed criticism. Kevin P McCarthy
Kilarney, Co Kerry