An Irish MP has launched an attack on Public Servants, accusing them of being lazy and “using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to lie on the couch and watch box sets”.
Marc MacSharry (pictured) claimed “many elements of our State Agencies, Government Departments and Local Authorities are using the crisis “to do nothing”.
Speaking in the Dáil (Parliament) Mr MacSharry said he had dealings recently with one State agency “where no one will be back in that office until the end of August”.
“They are working from home and you have to talk to an answering machine,” Mr MacSharry said.
He praised staff in the Department of Social Protection who had got many COVID-19-related schemes up and running and “managed to get money to people pretty quickly, in the main. They deserve much credit”.
However, he contrasted that effort with “many elements in the Public Service who are using this situation as cover to lie on the couch and watch box sets, returning an odd call here and there and doing the maximum of the minimum to tick over during this period”.
“Productivity has fallen and that is unacceptable,” Mr MacSharry said.
“Whether it is opportunism, laziness and/or poor management, it needs to be addressed because the country needs all its officials working at full tilt to get productivity levels up to the maximum so we get through this crisis in the best possible way,” he said.
He contrasted poor public sector performance with private sector activity much of which was back “at full tilt”.
He said staff in his own office “have not stopped for an hour since the onset of COVID-19”.
Dublin, 1 August 2020
