The Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said today he would sack ministers from a Fine Gael/Labour government if situations arose like those involving the then Ministers for Health and the Environment Michael Martin, and Martin Cullen.
Mr Kenny was referring to the illegal nursing home charges and e-government scandals, saying it was a 'cardinal sin not to read a brief prepared for you.'
He was speaking at the launch of a joint Fine Gael/Labour policy document on eliminating waste and mismanagement from the public finances and delivering better value for taxpayers' money.
Entitled ' The Buck Stops Here,' the 55-page document sets out forty recommendations across areas including financial management, spending controls and political and administrative accountability for the budgetary process.
One of the recommendations would involve giving the Taoiseach and Tánaiste a central role in setting a targeted set of strategic priorities for the government. They would then assess ministers' performances against key high-level targets. Mr Kenny said these targets would be made public.
Other recommendations include enhancing the role of the Department of Finance as a monitor of public spending; the introduction of a new gateway system for major projects to enhance accountability and pin down responsibilities; and to enhance the professionalism of the civil service.
Fine Gael Deputy Leader and Spokesman on Finance, Richard Bruton explained the gateway system as being a process that would 'ensure major capital projects that don't measure up don't proceed, that corrective action is taken when problems arise and that there is clarity about who is responsible."
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said real and effective accountability was at the heart of good financial management.
"As the title of our document makes plain, better use of public money comes back again and again to political responsibility and ministerial accountability," he said.
Mr Rabbitte said the present government operated on a 'everyone is responsible no-one is accountable' basis. "It suits the political masters, it suits the civil service but it does not suit the public," he added.
He said senior public service positions should be open to public competition to bring the service into line with modern practice across the economy.
Labour party Deputy Leader, Liz McManus said the Government has "been indifferent in the face of a litany of waste."
"Fine Gael and Labour in government will tackle this issue head on," she said.