Civil Servants

Introduction

The tradition of the Civil Service has been one of loyal and impartial service for the benefit of
the country.

To work in the public service is to work for the common good. The traditional values of the public service - honesty, impartiality and integrity - are about serving this common good. Standards of probity are high and must be maintained. These values must be the basis for the official actions of civil servants.

This Code of Standards and Behaviour for the Irish Civil Service is being introduced in accordance with section 10(3) of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. 1 It applies to civil servants of the Government as well as civil servants of the State and is an important pillar of the Delivering Better Government programme. The Human Resources Management Working Group, established under the Strategic Management Initiative, accorded a high priority to the development of a Code of Standards and Behaviour for the Civil Service when it commenced its deliberations. The development of a new Code recognises explicitly that, within the major modernisation programme which is currently underway in the Irish Civil Service, there is a need to restate and promote core public service values so as to marry the best of the old with the new. New systems for providing quality customer service, for devolving responsibility to Departments/Offices and managers, for managing performance and for using information technology are all posing challenges to existing policies and practices.

Changes to the regulatory environment and new Human Resource Management systems will also have a major impact on the way the Civil Service operates. To get the best from the new ways of doing business, they have to be grounded in a public service ethos which sets out clearly the standards expected and ways in which people will achieve them.

To underpin the change process, an integrated approach to the values, standards and behaviour of civil servants is now being adopted through this Civil Service Code. The Code sets out a clear framework within which civil servants must work. It sets out in a single document the principles which should govern the behaviour of civil servants and the values which the Civil Service espouses.

It builds on the principles set out in “The Ombudsman’s Guide to Standards of Best Practice for Public Servants”. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of guidelines for all possible eventualities. Individual Departments and Offices will wish to provide additional guidance as appropriate for their own staff relevant to their own particular circumstances.

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1 “(3)The Minister shall from time to time draw up codes of conduct for the guidance of persons who hold or occupy directorships or positions of employment in public bodies but before doing so shall consult with the Commission and such persons representative of those persons as he or she considers appropriate.”

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