State of the Public Service Series

Public Sector Trends 2023

This report examines trends in public sector development and is the fourteenth in our annual series. The intention is to help inform the debate on Ireland’s public sector and public administration, and its role in Irish society.

In the State of the Public Service research series, we seek to provide evidence-informed research and commentary on key aspects of contemporary Irish public administration. The authors of these reports bring their considerable expertise and practical knowledge to the topics selected to provide evidence, insights and recommendations to support future development. Our aim is that these reports will not only inform, but also challenge current thinking about how the Irish public service performs. We intend that these short research reports will be of relevance and use not only to public servants, but also to policy makers and the wider public.

Public Sector Trends 2022

INTRODUCTION

There are no clear or agreed definitions for comparative ranking of public administrations. However, there is widespread agreement that a number of elements should be included in any assessment:

• The size, cost and inputs of the public sector. While size of the public sector, its cost and its inputs are not the sole or even main determinants of good public administration, nevertheless in terms of value for money in the delivery of public services, keeping check on the size, cost and other inputs of the public sector and public service is an important consideration.
• The quality and efficiency of public administration. Public administration includes policy-making, policy legislation and management of the public sector. Such dimensions of public administration are frequently measured by subjective indicators of quality, which give a sense of how good the public administration is. There is also an onus on public administration to deliver services efficiently.
• Sectoral performance. The delivery of social, economic and environmental outcomes in an efficient manner is central to an effective public administration.
• Trust, satisfaction and confidence in public administration. The public ultimately must have trust, satisfaction and confidence in the public administration of a country if it is to be effective.

In this study, we examine indicators for each of these four elements of public administration. Where possible and appropriate, data is included for other European countries, in order to enable comparisons. In addition, where data are available, we have provided trend data going back over the last decade. The intention is to provide a snapshot of trends in public administration performance in Ireland, to highlight where we are doing well, what challenges are present, and where improvements can be made.

In a number of charts, as well as showing Ireland’s rating relative to the European Union (EU) plus the UK averages, the top ranked and bottom ranked country as at the time of the most recent data gathering are included for comparative purposes.

In its style and content, the format for the report, which has remained largely unchanged since 2010, drew on a number of efforts to benchmark and compare public sector efficiency and performance. These include a European Central Bank (ECB) international comparison of public sector efficiency sector performance.

Climate change and environmental degradation represent significant existential threats to how we all live. The European Green Deal sets out to address these challenges, and how we tackle these challenges here in Ireland will also have a significant bearing on how successful we are in delivering social and economic outcomes which are both effective and sustainable. For this 2022 report we have therefore included some new indicators to try and assess performance across climate and the broader environment.

A word of caution about data limitations

The data presented here should be interpreted with great care. First, there is the issue of whether the indicators used to represent public administration provision and quality really captures what public service is about. Indicators, by their nature, only give a partial picture. Second, much of the international comparative data in this report is qualitative data derived from opinion surveys. Some of this survey data comprises small-scale samples of opinion from academics, managers and experts in the business community. The survey data is thus limited in terms of both its overall reliability and the fact that some surveys represent the views of limited sections of the community. Third, the point scores arrived at on some indicators (for example, on a scale from 1–10 for the IMD data and between –2.5 and +2.5 for the World Bank governance indicators) should not be interpreted too strictly, as there are margins of error associated with these estimates. Fourth, changes over short periods should be viewed cautiously. Many of the indicators assessed represent ‘snapshots’ at one particular point in time. Small shifts in annual ranking are not particularly meaningful.

In all, when interpreting the findings set out in this paper, these limitations should be borne in mind. In particular, small variations in scores should be interpreted cautiously. These may be no more than random variations to be expected given the data being used. What is of interest is to identify broad patterns and trends emerging from the data.

Public Sector Trends 2021

INTRODUCTION

There are no clear or agreed definitions for comparative ranking of public administrations. However, there is widespread agreement that a number of elements should be included in any assessment:

• The size, cost and inputs of the public sector. While size of the public sector, its cost and its inputs are not the sole or even main determinants of good public administration, nevertheless in terms of value for money in the delivery of public services, keeping check on the size, cost and other inputs of the public sector and public service is an important consideration.
• The quality and efficiency of public administration. Public administration includes policy-making, policy legislation and management of the public sector. Such dimensions of public administration are frequently measured by subjective indicators of quality, which give a sense of how good the public administration is. There is also an onus on public administration to deliver services efficiently.
• Sectoral performance. The delivery of social and economic outcomes in an efficient manner is central to an effective public administration.
• Trust, satisfaction and confidence in public administration. The public ultimately must have trust, satisfaction and confidence in the public administration of a country if it is to be effective.

In this study, we examine indicators for each of these four elements of public administration. Where possible and appropriate, data is included for other European countries, in order to enable comparisons. In addition, where data are available, we have provided trend data going back over the last decade. The intention is to provide a snapshot of trends in public administration performance in Ireland, to highlight where we are doing well, what challenges are present, and where improvements can be made.

In a number of charts, as well as showing Ireland’s rating relative to the European Union (EU) plus the UK averages, the top ranked and bottom ranked country as at the time of the most recent data gathering are included for comparative purposes.

In its style and content, the format for the report, which has remained largely unchanged since 2010, drew on a number of efforts to benchmark and compare public sector efficiency and performance. These include a European Central Bank (ECB) international comparison of public sector efficiency, a study by the Netherlands Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP) of comparative public sector performance, the World Bank governance indicators project, the OECD Government at a Glance project, and an IPA study comparing public administrations.

Public Sector Trends 2020

This report examines trends in public sector development and is the eleventh in our annual series. The intention is to help inform the debate on Ireland’s public sector and public administration, and its role in Irish society.

Here we try to bring some evidence to bear on the important debate on the future shape, size and direction of the public sector. Using data gathered from a number of sources, information on the size and cost of the public sector, the quality of public administration, efficiency and performance, and levels of trust and confidence is presented in a simple but rigorous manner.

In the State of the Public Service research series, we seek to provide evidence-informed research and commentary on key aspects of contemporary Irish public administration. The authors of these reports bring their considerable expertise and practical knowledge to the topics selected to provide evidence, insights and recommendations to support future development. Our aim is that these reports will not only inform, but also challenge current thinking about how the Irish public service performs. We intend that these short research reports will be of relevance and use not only to public servants, but also to policy makers and the wider public

Public Sector Trends 2019

Public Sector Trends 2019 examines trends in public sector development and is the tenth in our annual series. The intention is to help inform the debate on Ireland's public sector and public administration, and its role in Irish society.

Here we try to bring some evidence to bear on the important debate on the future shape, size and direction of the public sector. Using data gathered from a number of sources, information on the size and cost of the public sector, the quality of public administration, efficiency and performance, and levels of trust and confidence is presented in a simple but rigorous manner.

Workforce Planning in the Irish Public Service

This Research Paper was commissioned as part of Our Public Service 2020 (Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, 2017). This is the current reform programme for the public service. Action 13 requires the public service to mainstream workforce planning. A decision was made by the Action 13 working group to commission an updated research paper from the IPA to support them in their key objectives of:

• Advancing strategic workforce planning as a discipline within the public sector
• Ensuring the value proposition of strategic workforce planning is understood across the public sector
• Considering shared approaches to common workforce challenges.

Public Sector Trends 2018

In this study, we examine indicators for each of these four elements of public administration. Where possible and appropriate, data is included for other European countries, in order to enable comparisons. In addition, where data are available, we have provided trend data going back over the last decade. The intention is to provide a snapshot of trends in public administration performance in Ireland, to highlight

where we are doing well, what challenges are present, and where improvements can be made.

A CASE STUDY OF THE EPA-RPII MERGER

This case study reviews the merger of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the former Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII), which took place in August 2014. The merger happened within the context of an extensive programme of public service cost reduction and agency rationalisation.

It is recognised that it is too early to reach definitive conclusions with regard to the longer-term outcome of the merger.  However, three years after the event it was considered appropriate to review the merger with the objectives of:

1. documenting the merger process and, in particular, acknowledging the significant work involved;
2. discussing the merger with EPA staff and identifying areas where consolidation is still required; and
3. sharing with other public bodies the considerable learning achieved within the EPA as a result of the merger.
 

Public Sector Trends 2017

This report examines trends in public sector development and is the eighth in our annual series. The intention is to help inform the debate on Ireland’s public sector and public administration, and its role in Irish society.

Here we try to bring some evidence to bear on the important debate on the future shape, size and direction of the public sector. Using data gathered from a number of sources, information on the size and cost of the public sector, the quality of public administration, efficiency and performance, and levels of trust and confidence is presented in a simple but rigorous manner.

In the State of the Public Service research series, we seek to provide evidence-informed research and commentary on key aspects of contemporary Irish public administration. The authors of these reports bring their considerable expertise and practical knowledge to the topics selected so as to provide evidence, insights and recommendations to support future development. Our aim is that these reports will not only inform, but also challenge current thinking about how the Irish public service performs. It is intended that these short research reports will be of relevance and use not only to public servants, but also to policy makers and the wider public.

The Practice of Human Resource Management

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This report provides an overview on human resource management (HRM or frequently abbreviated to HR). The term first emerged in the 1980s in the United States. Against a backdrop of increased pressure on firms because of globalisation and technological developments, academics from a number of disciplines began to consider people and how they are employed and managed in organisations from a new perspective. A convergence of this thinking evolved into what became known as human resource management.

Drawing on the theoretical underpinnings of HRM in strategic management and organisation behaviour, the goals of HRM have been identified as to (Armstrong and Taylor, 2015):

• Support the organisation in achieving its objectives by developing and implementing HR strategies that are integrated with business strategy
• Contribute to the development of a high-performance culture
• Ensure that the organisation has the talented, skilled and engaged people it needs
• Create a positive employment relationship between management and employees and a climate of mutual trust
• Encourage the application of an ethical approach to people management.

From the 1990s, the term strategic HR became popular rather than simply HR. This is done to emphasise the objective of aligning HR policies and practices with the interests of the organisation more generally. However, according to some commentators this has resulted in an imbalance across the many roles HR is expected to perform with a greater emphasis on ‘being strategic and a ‘business partner’ at the expense of being a ‘people partner’ that actively engages with and listens to the needs and concerns of managers and employees in general.

A perennial challenge for HR is the importance of showing that the application of good HR practices contributes to better organisation performance. The motivation has been to prove that HR rather than being a cost to the organisation ‘adds value’. Most of the research in this area is based on the premise that good HR practices enhance the motivation and commitment of staff which in turn impacts positively on productivity and performance.