Sustaining Progress - Department of Taoiseach

The Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill
23.17 The Public Appointments Service provided for under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and
Appointments) Bill will be the centralised recruitment and selection body for senior management
posts in the health sector. The Bill will also provide for the appointment of Commissioners of Public
Service Appointments who will be responsible for the probity of the recruitment process through the
use of suitable Codes of Practice and a licensing regime. The Bill allows for the extension of the role
of the Commissioners for Public Service Appointments to the health sector. Early consultations with
the relevant unions in the sector will take place on the draft legislation.
Performance Management
23.18 A model of performance management, integrated with service planning and human resource
planning, is currently being developed for the health service. This process will be expedited and the
rollout of a performance management scheme accelerated to successfully align effective utilisation
of human resources with strategic and operational performance priorities.
23.19 The parties will work energetically to develop and agree an appropriate national uniform system of
performance management for the health service. This should be based on the process for the
introduction of performance management detailed in the Action Plan for People Management to
help units and teams improve performance. The model should encompass the integration of service
planning, human resource planning and organisation goals with personal development (e.g. rollout of
competency frameworks, the provision of appropriate resources and personal development planning),
leading directly to improved services to customers and the public.
Organisational and System Reform
23.20 The reform of healthcare requires ongoing change and development of services and the skills that are
required to deliver them. There is also a requirement for systems and structural change. Significant
organisational and institutional reform is an intrinsic part of the overall Health Strategy agenda.
23.21 The parties agree to approach these changes, as with the other issues set out above, in a spirit of
co-operation with an emphasis on maximising consultation, discussion and agreement in order to
secure implementation of the necessary improvements, while recognising the overall responsibility
of Government to take the policy decisions involved.
Section 24: Modernisation of the Education Sector
A - The Higher Education Authority (HEA) Sector
24.1 All staff employed in the HEA sector agree to ongoing co-operation with, and adoption of, new and
more flexible work patterns arising from the broadening of roles and responsibilities of third level
educational institutions and the challenges facing them from the ever more diverse student base.
It is accepted that the change agenda will include measures arising from the implementation of:
■ institutional planning and strategic development;
Part 2 Pay and the Workplace
119