New law will make it easier to sack civil servants

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has secured Cabinet approval for new legislation which would make it easier to sack civil servants, the Irish Independent reports.

It follows an internal review of the civil service disciplinary code which found that the existing procedures are unnecessarily complex.

The Department of Public Expenditure said only 97 civil servants were dismissed between 2008-16.

The new legislation will also simplify the appeals procedure for disciplined civil servants to ensure cases are heard more quickly.

A spokesperson for the Department said: “It was determined that in order to streamline the disciplinary decision-making and appeals processes further and to bring civil service practice more in line with external practice, legislative change would be required.

“The key provisions of the proposed legislative amendments will contribute to the achievement of this priority by empowering managers to manage their staff effectively rather than having all serious sanctions determined at the very top of an organisation.”