LABOUR:THE LABOUR Party has said it will establish a convention to draw up a new constitution, make significant changes to the way appointments are made to State boards and introduce a new office headed by a minister to drive public service reform.
It has also proposed that there should be a ceiling of €190,000 on pay in the public service. However, it accepts that this cap might only apply to new appointments.
Launching the party’s plan on political, government and public service reform, its spokesman on constitutional matters, Brendan Howlin, said the core of its proposals was the establishment of a new constitutional convention.
He said this would “put the whole of the Constitution on the table for review by the people”.
Under Labour’s proposals the Seanad would be abolished and major Dáil reform introduced, including a 50 per cent increase in sitting days.
The Labour document says the new constitutional convention would include experts and specialists, as well as ordinary citizens drawn by lot. It would have an open mandate, and no part of the existing 1937 Constitution would be exempt from consideration. It would be asked to prepare a draft constitution within one year.
Mr Howlin said one of the priorities of the Labour Party in government would be to reform the manner in which people were appointed to State boards.
He said since Fianna Fáil came to power in 1997 about 15,000 such appointments had been made. While some of the people appointed had been excellent, others were not.
He said under the Labour proposals there would be “an open interview system for anyone who believes they have the expertise to serve on a State board”. Ultimately, the decision would be taken by the Oireachtas and people appointed would be accountable to the Oireachtas.
Labour says it would reserve the right to seek the resignation of all those appointed by the outgoing administration to State boards since November 22nd, when the Greens said they would withdraw from Government.
Labour is also proposing there should be a pay ceiling of €190,000 in the public service. However, the party’s spokesman on justice, Pat Rabbitte, said it could not impose a diktat on those currently with contractual terms. He said such a regime could apply for the future, with “moral suasion” used to try to bring existing staff into line.
A minster would be appointed to drive public service reform. There would be a review of the number, range and activities of bodies funded from the public purse, while management layers in the public service would be reduced and managers given more freedom to manage staff and budgets.
The Labour proposals would also see the introduction of spending limits for all elections.
The party would also significantly reduce political donations to €2,500 for political parties and €1,000 for candidates.
