The Destruction of the Irish Economy by Jeremy James

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The Destruction of the Irish Economy

by Jeremy JamesThe Wright report on the review of the performance of the Department of Financein the 10 years to end-2010 has just been published on the Department's website.For anyone who is genuinely concerned about the way this country's economy hasbeen torn asunder over the past few years, this report is a shameless and mind-numbingly pointless exercise. It does not give a single convincing insight into thereal reasons the Department stood back from its statutory responsibilities, from2004 if not earlier, and allowed an utterly unprincipled and unscrupulous'government' to do appalling damage to our economy and the fabric of our nation.The Department was the organisation best equipped to call a halt to the maverick schemes and cynical exploitation of the outgoing 'government', but it didabsolutely nothing of substance to prevent this catastrophe. Its spineless attitudebeggars belief.If you want the viewpoint of a former longserving member of the Department'smiddle management cadre, please see the attached submission which Robert Pyemade to the review group on 10 October 2010 (which fact is recorded in theofficial report).Be warned, the exploitation of the Irish people is far from over. In addition tofurther draconian budgets which will do even more economic damage than thelast one, we can expect to see a sizeable portion of our public assets pass intoforeign ownership over the next few years. These will probably include ESB,Bord na Mona, Coillte, RTE and a host of other state-owned companies.Remember, the members of the incoming 'government' sat complacently in theDail during the past 10 years while their outgoing counterparts went on therampage. The sharks and jackals who control the international banking systemwill face no real opposition to their goal of stealing what remains of our wealthand completing the final destruction of our sovereignty.Such are the needs of the New World Order.[The submission which Robert Pye made to the review committee on 10 October2010 follows

below

.]4 March 2011

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TO:

Mr Rob Wright, Chairman of the Review Panel established by theMinister for Finance to conduct an Independent Review of theDepartment of Finance

- Review of the Department of Finance -

Submission by Robert Pye, employee of the Department 1979-2010

Disclaimer

At the outset I would like to state that none of the comments and opinions expressedin this submission should be taken as a reference to any individual civil or publicservant, whether past or current. They should be interpreted as referring exclusively to(a) the Department (or other relevant organisation, as appropriate) as a corporateentity, or (b) the senior management cadre, broadly conceived. This is not to implythat individual civil and public servants did not make very serious mistakes in the runup to, and in the aftermath of, the fiscal and banking crises, but merely to clarify thatthis submission makes no pronouncement – good, bad or indifferent – in relation toany individual.

Key Players

The key players in the fiscal/banking débâcle are those normally identified in publicand media discussion of the issues in recent months, plus one group which isordinarily never mentioned, as follows:The Ruling Elite: This is not the cartel of bankers and developers, noreven a combination of the cartel and other influential interests, but thequasi-dynastic consortium which has ruled Ireland for generations.

Credentials

Even though I was an Assistant Principal in the Department for 26 years (1984-2010)– a rank which does not normally have close regular contact with senior management– I enjoyed exceptional proximity to the higher management tiers of the Departmentsince 1994 when I was assigned, firstly to the programme of reform of the publicservice, and then to strategic management co-ordination within the Department. I wasalso secretary during that time to both the Assistant Secretary Group and the PrincipalOfficer Group, as well as the Departmental Partnership Committee. I was thusunusually well placed over a period of fifteen years to observe the inner workings of the Department, its management dynamics, its decision-making processes and itschanging organisational structure.

3I was responsible for co-ordinating the preparation of all Statements of Strategypublished by the Department since 1997, as well as all Progress Reports thereon, theDepartment’s official Risk Management Strategy, its framework of assignments of responsibility for all officers at Principal level and above, and all progress reports onchange management developments and initiatives across the Department. I was alsoresponsible for co-ordinating the preparation of the Department’s Annual OutputStatement which was used by the Oireachtas Finance and Public Service Committeein its annual meeting with the Minister as the basis for its review of the progress orotherwise made by the Department in achieving its strategic objectives. I organisedthe Department’s annual conferences in the period 2000-2007 and participated in adrafting and advisory capacity in the major Organisational Review of the Departmentin 1995, as well as in a lesser review in 2000. I also attended occasional meetings of the Management Advisory Committee (MAC) between 1994 and 2008.I greatly enjoyed my work and found it both challenging and rewarding. I wasallowed a high degree of autonomy and, for the most part, there was a clearwillingness on the part of management to both hear what I had to say and to give itdue consideration. Many of my ideas and suggestions over the years wereimplemented. I enjoyed a good working relationship with virtually all managers atDirector level and above and got to know many of them on a more personal level.I feel it is important to provide this career-related information in order to establish thatI am well qualified to comment on the Department, its workings and its management.As it transpired, very few people would have had such a broad overview of theDepartment or such regular contact with the top three layers of management over sucha long period.I also have extensive experience of organisational and systems issues within the civilservice as a whole through my work on computerization. For example, I was the soleauthor of the ESRI report,

An Overview of Civil Service Computerization 1960-1990

,which was published in 1992, and spent six years with the Department’s IT strategicplanning function (1988-1993).I also served in the Department’s Economics Unit in 1994-1995 and as deputy GiltDealer for the Department in 1987-1988, which included oversight of the Stock Exchange.For the record I would point out that I did not accept three or more offers of promotion to Principal level in the period 2000-2008, partly for family reasons, butalso because I had long been concerned at the extent to which the Department isinfluenced, if not controlled, by the political system.