In the past decade, according to figures provided by the Minister's Department, the number of civil servants has increased from about 36,000 to 53,000, which is an almost 50% increase. In figures provided to me by the HSE with regard to whole-time equivalents, the numbers employed by the HSE have increased from 107,274 to 148,268, a 38.2% increase. We have seen today a report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council that overspending by Departments this year is set to top €2 billion. While I totally agree that, with a growing population, more complex needs and a traditional under-resourcing of certain areas of government and the health service, we need to expand. I have two related questions. How can we ensure that these increases in both staff resources and spending are resulting in improved delivery to citizens? Second, in the event of a global economic downturn, how can we ensure that public current expenditure will be kept under control?

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