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Updated at 6.26pm
AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW of the Department of Justice published this afternoon has found that the organisation is driven by a “closed, secretive and silo driven culture” — leading to an announcement from the ministry’s Secretary General that he is to step aside from his position.
The review, published on the justice.ie website shortly before 4.30pm, was commissioned in the wake of the Guerin Report into claims of malpractice made by garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe.
Amongst the other top five issues highlighted by the review group were:
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald asked for the review to be carried out on the 3 June — in the wake of the report into McCabe’s claims by senior counsel Sean Guerin, which ultimately cost her predecessor, Alan Shatter, his job.
Chaired by CEO of the Dublin Airport Authority, Kevin Toland, it was tasked with examining Guerin’s concerns about how the Department is run, and with assessing the effectiveness of current management structures.
In a statement released shortly after the report’s publication, the Department said that Secretary General Brian Purcell had offered to be “reassigned” to elsewhere in the civil service.
The Minister thanked Purcell “for his contribution to the State” over the last 28 years; he has also worked as Director General of the Irish Prison Service, and was previously with the Department of Social Protection.
The six person group that carried out the review, which also included former Seattle Chief of Police Kathleen O’Toole, convened seven times between early June and mid-July, and met with over internal 20 staff members from the Department.
Three interviews were carried out with Purcell as part of that process.
It also interviewed 25 additional people, and received feedback and submissions from 30 staff.
Brian Purcell, pictured alongside former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan and former Justice Minister Alan Shatter.
In the section of its report detailing what it described as “significant weaknesses” within the Department, the review group found the culture of the Department “to be closed and unnecessarily secretive (even taking into account the important and confidential nature of some of the work)“.
It found that this had resulted in “an inward looking organisation with limited learning capacity and reduced openness to new ideas“.
…the Review Group found that although there has been a challenging expansion of work, the overall Departmental culture has not changed or adapted to the world in which it now operates.
The culture of confidentiality in the Department’s dealings with An Garda Síochána has influenced the leadership style, management practices and relationships with other agencies.
The need for secrecy in particularly sensitive areas has not been restricted to those areas. It permeates much of the Department’s remit and has become part of its DNA, to the detriment of other areas that should be open.
Management
These shortcomings led to a number of serious failures recently, the report concluded, particularly in the Garda Division of the Department “regarding how briefings between the Minister and senior management were handled“.
The failings are summarised as follows:
Communications
There is “no coherent, structured communications strategy” within the Department of Justice, the report concluded.
In addition “the communications area is inadequately resourced” the panel found, and “there would appear to have been inadequate constructive relationships” with the media, which it says are…
…vital in a world where the pace and nature of media interactions are growing exponentially.
Technology
In a conclusion which perhaps shines some light on why’s Martin Callinan’s letter to Alan Shatter about the taping of phonecalls at garda stations didn’t get to the Minister for two weeks, the report states:
Minister Fitzgerald speaks to the media this evening.
The independent review makes a number of recommendations, and says the Department should start by…
…focusing on changing closed and secretive cultural model to being as open and inclusive as possible considering appropriate confidentiality…
It says a change in “leadership and management routines” needs to happen and that there needs to be a more “structured approach to how agencies and key relationships are managed” in order to hold them more accountable.
Speaking this evening, Minister Fitzgerald said she had confidence in the current staff in her department to implement the recommendations of the report.
Additional reporting Hugh O’Connell & Nicky Ryan.
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So he’s just being sent to another parish. This sound familiar.
*sounds
This is just confirming what most people always suspected that the top people in the public service are totally out of their depth when it comes to running the business of the state. Simply coming up through the grades & ranks in the Civil service should not qualify anybody to manage a state department as most often they are ill equipped to do so. Government departments should be benchmarked against successful private sector companies. One just has to look back how other government departments performed before and during and the banking crisis. Time to wake up!
That’s what I got as well. “Offered to be reassigned”? How long until he resigns, with full pension and benefits, rather than being sacked?
And this isn’t a rant at the public sector, but how in the name of all that’s logical can somebody with responsibility for a department that is shown up to be ineffective, and essentially unfit for purpose be allowed keep his job, or realistically be “reassigned”? If he is reassigned, it once again shows the country up for what it really is.
The private sector didn’t exactly cover itself in glory either.
I agree with you 100%. My point is equally as applicable to the private sector. That’s why I prefaced it by saying it wasn’t a Public Sector rant.
My comment was directed at InkToner.
If this person was a CEO in the private sector we would be fired, not reassigned.
Typical culture in the public service, god forbid they might have to fire somebody.
If the boss is incompetent, you can bet your life the vast majority of employees in that department are crap too.
Most of the senior people in private sector companies have risen up through the ranks as well – promote to the level of incompetence is a trend which is unfortunately as common in the private sector as it seems in the public sector. The Irish place far too much emphasis on “experience” – seniority by another name.
Mike….civil servant ?????
Connor the difference in the private sector you have to prove your ability to gain promotion in the public service you get promoted based on your service!!!
That’s completely untrue. All promotion in the civil service is entirely merit based and has been for years. Stop commenting on stuff you know nothing about.
Ink Toner…….. private sector worker???
Mike “All promotion in the civil service is entirely merit based” ? That’s worrying….does that even mean the less sickies you pull the better your chances???? Enlighten me O knowledgeable one….
I’ve better things to do with my time than attempt to “enlighten” childish trolls like yourself.
What a bunch of crap!!
It’s who you know in the public service.
Not what you know!!!
Purcell was promoted on merit, it just proves how poor the standard is.
Incompetent, incompetent, incompetent!!!!!!!!
Ink toner you don’t get promoted on the basis of seniority in the civil service and haven’t for a very long time indeed. For at least 20 years seniority has played only a very small part in promotion and no part at all in virtually all Departments for many years now. A lot of posters on this topic are engaging in a generalised discussion on a topic about which they know very little. The public service to which you refer covers every public activity including the HSE and local authorities. This report deals with a civil service Department and not the whole of the public service.
Like all Government Departments… Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. After every reshuffle its just the same circus, different clowns.
What, you want to outsource our civil servant jobs to Indians ? ;)
Why not? I think its a great idea.
If Purcell was in a private company he would be on the dole not been able to change departments.
So no word on the reason why he was dispatched to the former garda commissioners home maybe Enda will explain.
I think the Gsoc episode is lurking in the background.
Why is purcell being reassigned and not fired. Does kenny not have anyone to call out to his house
In fairness Purcell has “offered” to be reassigned I’d imagine with the same pay and conditions he currently has. Big of him.
What would you do if you felt you’d been scapegoated for failings that are in large part a legacy issue and for which successive govts and Justice Ministers are every bit as culpable as the Department itself?
C’mon Mike, he was in charge of the most important dept in the State, it was unresponsive, highly resistant to change, no structure in dealing with 3rd party’s and had no sense of accountability. He even stiffed Shatter by simply not showing him reports. And now he’s gone to another dept, where no doubt he’ll continue to stifle prgress.
As a Department it’s far from perfect, but so are most organisations – public or private – if you look at them closely enough. And even more so if you look at them from a politically-motivated perspective of wanting to spread some of the muck around. This report was commissioned by a government that was desperate to take some of the blame off itself for the whole Gardagate fiasco. Do you really think its outcome could ever have been anything other than a foregone conclusion?
It’s funny how we tend to unconditionally accept an “independent” report where its findings concur with their own preconceptions, while a report that doesn’t conform to our worldview is invariably labelled a “whitewash”.
*OUR own preconceptions
Some of these people destroyed or gave to the british the most important files on dublin and monaghan. If ever a dept should be disbanded it’s this one. Disbannd it and start from scratch
We concur with what you have said
Stop hijacking the issue for your own narrow ends.
How is seeking JUSTICE for the dead a narrow end!!
If it was your family member would not fight tooth and nail for the TRUTH!
The fact is that for years there has been systemic failures in past Governments and their Civil Servants, to try to resolve Injustices for it own people.
What is your definition of hacking. Should we approach this with kit gloves and leave no prints. The shit hole of this crass landscape is full of justice denied by the elitist crass in the corrupt justice department. Are you not aware the stardust case remains unresolved because of the devil in the detail of that report. To what are you alluding was hijacked. I believe the truth what do you think.
If you think Dept of Justice is bad, Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation is a lost cause. Cover ups of naked criminal activity is part of the job spec. Just ask former Junior Minister John Perry and Dept Assistant Secretary Breda Power – and these people get fat pensions – we need to seriously wise up.
Very few paper trails. That’s what I read.
I’d say the shredder has been flat out for a while Niall … Is 200,000 a year not in excess of Public Service pay guidelines ; that’s a million in 5 years … it’s like winning the lotto for going to work !
Why did Minister Fitzgerald delay the publishing of this report for 2 weeks? What right has she? She works for the public and this report contains information that is of relevant to the public.
Maybe the report was not passed to her?
Every department of government seems to be suffering crippling IT problems. I’m starting to think they’re still running on Windows 95. Would they not just get a team from Dell, HP and Intel, do a complete refurbishment and modernise.
xp keelan
apparemtly most depts haven’t made the switch despite microsoft offering to ungrade all the pcs in the civil service.
The systems are out of date because Howlin’s Dept won’t give them the money to upgrade them. Or to do anything else for that matter.
The Minister thanked Purcell “for his contribution to the State”. Yeah so say all of us……
Well he did help to get the boss and his gilly to resign in fairness now Dougal!!!
Well in fairness he was the man who cut Martin Cahills dole….was kidnapped & tortured for his trouble!
Good to see such a report being carried out into a government department. The initial result surely being change for the better (I hope)
..I would like to see more detailed reports on how other government departments are run too. I’m sure there would be interesting outcomes..
Might be valuable to do this kind of review on all government depts.But sure if you are only going to “reassign” the director generals WHATS the point???….deck chairs and reorganising comes to mind!!! :-(
Fine Fail spokesperson for drug dealers just on 6 one news. Apparently everything was rosey under the watch of the previous government. All of these problems have only manifested since they left power. Hmm, still washing their hands of the circumstances that have led us all here.
For 30 plus years we have no confidence in the Justice system. Hopefully now the cover ups will be exposed. Just maybe we will get justice for our loved ones
Don,t hope because no hope.
The review would make one wonder what the f..k Alan Shatter was trying to defend and protect. Amazing to think a minister resigned and a garda commissioner resigned and a civil servant just moved over. Bit like an episode of Yes Minister. The way this country has been and is been run and governed is more like a sketch from monty python. How could we get a deal on our debt from Europe when our civil servants are so incompetent.
Civil service in useless pile of s&!t shocker !
There are more brit agents in this dept than all of the res combined.
SeekingUniversalTruth
Yours nom de plume would be more appropriate to the founder of a new religion. Where you get your ideas and notions from causes me grave concern and that concern is for your own health and wellbeing as a person!
You are a person ….,aren’t you?
Oh hark at richard (walter mitty) rodgers accusing someone of having a false account.
The biggest spoofer to grace the journal is calling a kettle black.
Seriously mr/ms rodgers, get that help you need.
richard,
The main obstructionists to the justice for the forgotten group were the dept of justice, at every given opportunity the DOJ bowed and kowtowed to the brits.
I think what we are seeing now is linked to the GSOC episode, we are seeing payback.
Not quite. He’s a Shinnerbot. With a tinfoil hat.
He is moving to the Dept of incompentance
If we had investigative reporters they’d be sniffing a link to the GSOC episode. I can guarantee that a whistle blower is going to come forward from the DOJ soon.
So, the dart meant has poor document tracking and outdated it system…….. Similar to the Garda siochana.
The thing is that most public service departments are run by IBEC loving fools that have little or no idea how to run businesses. They are simply there to give huge sums of money to certain private sector businesses. So less of the public sector bashing, as you will find most of the people who work in the public sector on low grades put in far more unpaid hours than their respective private sector workers.
Nice Photograph.
Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.
Of course, that’s no longer the photograph I commented on…
Purcell shifted to another parish, just like the old days when the church had to move a priest. Nothing ever changes.
No IT systems, no tracking. Of course, cos then nothing can ever be proven or disproven, so setup and working as designed. That wont change either.
Also notice how FG+Labour played that old FF trick of sitting on this important report until their summer holidays? It will all be forgotten about by the time the Dail returns. Thats Endas democratic revolution. Nothing has changed.
Time people woke up and stopped electing these clowns.
Governments current and past have to accept blame for the wrongs done to the irish people. For example the states of fear in this country are awakening reminder of the failings of our Justice department and minister of justice. The Stardust families met this minister over a week ago. This case was degraded by her officials and guess it will remain so. The fat culture of grey haired brains will never fail to hide the truth even write to the forensic science laboratory and hide the truth by covering up. The same department changed a stardust report so a precident could not be set up in law. Watch what Frances does next for the stardust unlawfully killed victims, nothing she cannot blame them like the woman she claimed to the united nations asked for their pelvic bone to be cut in half.
The report today should have been called the laurel and hardy department of justice report. Given to the media by our charlie chaplin minister of justice. It noted the three scrooges claimed what we all know it is not fit for purpose.
The Three Scrooges….? Oh yeah, you mean Barry, Girly and Joe.
No I mean garda commissioner, secretary general and n minister of justice warts and all . I guess we should call the justice department faulty towers because the cracks in the wall have gone down to the foundations. I guess you would call this a disease with no cure. Nothing will change.
Ok, do we know how many fish there were in order for Mr. Purcell to be grateful?
Finally some accountability for the permanent government!
When will we get a similar report into dept of health, social welfare, education, finance, HSE and many others!
Does this mean that they don’t do P45s in the top ranks of the civil services or is that only for non government work? The reason he is moving aside rather then out the door with a size 9 up the arse is the fear of rattling secrets coming out of the woodwork.
No, it’s because they’d lose if he took them to an employment tribunal.
It doesn’t sound strange for the justice ministry to be secretive it is all the other problems that would worry me
have your say