Address by Frank Daly, Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners on the Occasion of The signing of a Service Level Agreement on the Accreditation of Revenue's Technical Tax Training Programme
Tuesday, 21st September 2004
Plassey House, University of Limerick
Chancellor, President, Distinguished Guests, Colleagues,
I am delighted to be here today on this very special occasion for Revenue and I trust also for the University of Limerick.
I am particularly delighted to be signing a Service Level Agreement that marks the beginning of a unique and innovative partnership - a partnership between a forward thinking University that I know prides itself in building close relationships with industry, commerce and the public sector and the progressive and modern organisation that is today's Revenue, and which I am honoured to lead.
Changes in Revenue
It is no secret that we in Revenue have come through some turbulent times over the last few years. We have just completed a root and branch restructuring involving the most significant changes to our organisation in its 83 years of service to the State. We have made considerable improvements in the way we do our business and we are certainly a more effective and modern organisation.
Most importantly I believe we are well on the way to achieving a transformation in the public perception of Revenue, and to establishing a reputation for treating all taxpayers justly and equitably and with no little efficiency. This is fundamental to confidence in tax administration in Ireland.
Our People and Our Commitment to Training
All our achievements of course could not have been possible without the dedication, commitment and expertise of our most important resource - our people. One of our three key organisational goals in our Statement of Strategy 2003 - 2005 is to attract, develop and retain high calibre staff. This means ensuring that everyone in Revenue is equipped with the necessary skills and competencies to conduct the business of Revenue effectively and to ensure that we deliver for Government and for the people.
This is a commitment which is not just aspirational but is backed up by very specific investments in the training function.
Last year we spent an amount equal to 4.13% of payroll in training and developing our staff. This year we will exceed that figure and invest (I use that word deliberately) over €10 million in the training and development function. It is reflected in the delivery of about 40,000 training days, directly or by external providers, across a wide range of training programmes .............. from the very technical programme that we mark here today, right through to management, interpersonal skills and computer training. Achieving this involves over 70 officials on training duties on a fulltime basis, supplemented by a growing number of part-time local training officials, currently numbering over 20.
At a time when the purse-strings of public service budgets are tight - and Revenue is no exception to this - training has been one of the few areas where we have actually increased our investment.
Why?
Well, so that we can do our business effectively of course. Implied in this is enhanced organisational technical capability and greater professionalism as well as better service to taxpayers who can be confident that they are dealing with highly qualified officers - and who may, as a consequence in some cases at least) be influenced in the right direction by this as well!
But we invest in learning also because it is a first principle as far as we're concerned to providing our staff with greater development opportunities and motivation - specifically to assist them in experiencing the wider range of duties now available as a consequence of organisational restructuring and integration.
High Quality Validation
Today then is a significant milestone on our journey to fulfilling our commitments to training and to achieving excellence through our people. The Accreditation provided by the University of Limerick will provide a high-quality validation and quality assurance of our Technical Tax Training Programme and I have no doubt that it will lead to an increase in our overall organisational technical capability.
I am confident that this partnership will enhance the technical knowledge and skills of our staff right across the organisation and actively contribute to increased motivation and tangible reward for staff who are prepared to put effort into further learning and assessment.
Revenue staff have always been of high quality. Nevertheless we continue to seek to expand their knowledge and skills. Not alone will this partnership advance this objective but it will also provide a highly respected and accredited badge of quality for our staff be it at diploma or degree level. As with all graduates of this highly esteemed University Revenue staff will wear this badge with pride.
Access to the Programme by Staff for Development purposes
It is recognised that Revenue trains its staff primarily to equip them with the skills to meet business needs. However we also recognise the wider developmental potential in this accredited programme and we anticipate demand for access to the programme from staff who are not selected to undertake the programme for business needs.
I welcome and support such wider interest in access to the programme and am glad to know that the possibility of self-study via distance learning is being explored with you here in the Centre for Taxation Studies. I understand that while there is much work to do in this area, you very much support the principle of access to the programme for other Revenue staff who have not been selected for business purposes. I look forward to positive developments in this area.
Signal to our Customers
The qualifications which many of our staff will now reach will not just be a internal mark of our confidence but will also be a very clear signal to our taxpaying customers that our progression towards excellence continues apace - excellence demonstrated by responsive customer service and sharper audits and investigations. The expertise of our staff will in future carry the quality hallmark of a qualification in Applied Taxation from the University of Limerick.
Employer of Choice
There is one other (of the many) benefits to Revenue in this unique partnership that I would like to highlight today. In these changing and competitive times, Revenue must now vie with other organisations, both public and private, to attract high-calibre recruits and become an employer of choice. The third-level accreditation of our technical tax training programme will enhance our already developing reputation as an attractive place to work where people have the opportunity to advance in careers that are exciting, challenging and in many cases dare I say it - taxing.
Revenue's Tax technical Training Programme
I feel it is worthwhile to briefly make reference to the actual training programme that will now become accredited programme in this partnership with UL. The programme was designed and introduced in 2001, building on the successful technical training programmes that had been in place in Revenue in previous years. It was developed in partnership with the business areas, staff and unions. It is modular in structure, which facilitates the delivery of individual modules where that is appropriate. It is a very comprehensive programme covering a wide gamut of tax and tax related subjects and has been recognised for some time as being of a very high quality. That recognition reaches a significant high point today with the commencement of the accreditation process.
It is important also to record that the programme has been extended to incorporate additional modules on Customs, Excise and Capital Acquisitions Tax and that these subjects will become part of the accredited structure in due course. And to ensure flexibility I am happy to see that it is planned that the programme structure will incorporate an elective element in relation to some of the modules.
I will also be taking a keen personal interest in the development of the advanced training modules which will constitute the final year of the programme. Revenue has established a Working Group of officials from our key business areas including Training Branch, which is currently identifying our advanced technical training needs. The recommendations of this Group will be incorporated as far as possible into the final year of this programme, bringing people right through to degree level. I am especially excited by the concept of every final year student working on a tax-related research project. Indeed I know that your colleagues in the Centre for Taxation Studies are equally excited about this part of the programme.
Currently we have approximately 250 trainees at various stages of the programme. These high numbers, as you are aware came about as a direct result of our organisational restructuring and the consequential movement of staff to new areas of work. In future years our recruitment and mobility policies will ensure a regular flow-through of trainees to the programme, although not at the level of current numbers. Mind you the Government's Decentralisation Programme may ensure a few more trainees than we would have originally anticipated.
Relationship with UL & Limerick
Most people here today will know that while this is the start of a formal arrangement between the University of Limerick and Revenue, we are not by any means strangers. Revenue's Training Branch has already availed of some of your expertise. Professor Henry Ellis has recently provided us with valuable training on Company Law. In retaliation Liam Irwin, our respected Limerick-based Collector General has given you the benefit of his experience and expertise in tax administration.
Commitment to Partnership with UL
Chancellor and President, I would like today to assure you all of the Revenue Board's commitment and my personal commitment to this partnership. It was just over a year ago that our Management Advisory Committee took the decision to actively pursue the external third-level accreditation of our technical tax training programme. Today, a vision has become a reality. There are yet many miles to travel on this adventure but today we passed perhaps the most significant milestone on the way. The next one will surely be when the first group of Revenue graduates will receive their diplomas awarded by this prestigious Seat of Learning. We will be encouraging the attendance of all Revenue graduates here at the college on graduation day and I certainly hope to be in attendance myself.
Thank You
I must in conclusion thank a number of people without whose enthusiasm and commitment this project would never have come to reality. Well done to Brendan Lynch, Niall Butler and his team in Training Branch, the MAC Sub-Group on Training chaired by Niamh O'Donoghue (Gerry Harrahill and Eamonn Fitzpatrick are here today) and the Tender Evaluation Group who did a great job in selecting such a deserving and vibrant partner.
I would like also to thank Professor Downer and his team for your welcome here today and for organising this very warm reception. I express my particular appreciation to Margery Stapleton, who over the last few weeks, has worked tirelessly with both Niall and Brendan to bring us to this historic point.
And Finally
Revenue has always been committed to building and maintaining relationships with a range of professional institutions, both business and academic and we will continue to do so. But today is something more - the start of a special partnership and I hope a mutually beneficial investment.
We will be moving on shortly to sign the Service Level Agreement which sets out the formal working relationship between our two organisations. Perhaps it is fitting that I close with a quote from the final provisions of that Agreement...
"Notwithstanding the details set out in this agreement, both Revenue and the University of Limerick are committed to fostering and developing this unique partnership in a spirit of mutual cooperation and trust."
What more can I say, .........except Amen to that........and thank you all.