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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
— village November - December 2009
Department of Finance
Michael Scanlan
I n th e r u n n i n g be ca u s e The current Secretary
General at the Department of Health and
Children joined the civil service in , and
spent most of his career with the Department
of Finance. In , he became responsible
for overall public expenditure policy, includ-
ing decentralisation and the public expend-
iture aspects of the “Sustaining Progress”
partnership pact. A former Secretary to the
Gleeson and Buckley Review Bodies on pub-
lic sector pay, Scanlan became the Secretary
General of the Department of Health and
Children in April , shortly after the con-
troversy over nursing home fees. Aside from
his experience in dealing with future crunch
issues including public expenditure and civil
service pay, Scanlan has unparalleled experi-
enced in operating under fire.
Biggest achievement As an Assistant
Secretary at the Department of Finance,
Scanlan worked with the Department of
Health and Children on the health sector
structural reform programme. This included
the establishment of the HSE, perhaps the
most controversial health policy decision
of recent years.
Rumour has it that The decision-makers
in Government like the cut of his jib: sources
name Scanlan as the front-runner for the job,
citing his leadership and analytical skills as
big benefits.
What he says “In my view, the Department
has contributed in no small part to the
measurable and exceptional improvements
in health outcomes experienced by people
in Ireland over recent years”. (Oireachtas
Public Accounts Committee, May ).
Mr Scanlan declined to comment to Village.
Sir Humphrey Moment Scanlan was
accused early in his stint as Secretary
General of fostering a “culture of secrecy”
after a Freedom of Information request
revealed that he discouraged HSE Chief
Executive, Brendan Drumm, from putting
issues in writing, seemingly contradicting a
key recommendation of the Travers Report.
Having received a draft letter “in a personal
capacity” from Drumm on health issues that
would need to be addressed in January ,
Scanlan met with Drumm in September of
that year. “We agreed that it would be bet-
ter to progress the issues involved by way of
further discussions . . . rather than by way
of formal written correspondence”, a memo
on the meeting stated.
The Department of Finance led the property-adulating complacency
that sundered the Irish economy. Its Secretary General is now the most
powerful official in the Irish Public service. The position will probably
become vacant next year. Derek Owens sketches the front-runners.
d e r e k o w e n s
David Doyle
, Secretary-General of
the Department of Finance, is eligible for retire-
ment in November, although his current contract
runs until June . While the Secretary-General
of the Finance Department has traditionally
moved on to become Governor of the Central
Bank, TCD Professor Patrick Honohan landed
that role in September in a shattering blow to
the self-respect of the venerable, once politically
unassailable Department. When Mr Doyle does
decide to retire, the next Secretary General at the
Department of Finance will be appointed directly
by the Government. Doyle is a Departmental vet-
eran, having entered the public service in . He
worked in the public expenditure division until
, before moving to the Budget and Economic
Division as Assistant Secretary. In , he moved
to the Banking, Finance and International Division,
where he worked until his appointment as Second
Secretary General of the Public Expenditure
Division in . He has been secretary General
of the Department since . In a recent profile,
Ian Kehoe noted: “Few doubt that he is up to the job.
‘He is good under pressure and thrives under a huge
workload’, said one senior civil servant. Another
added: ‘He does not suffer fools gladly. If he likes
you, he will support you. If he does not like you, well,
that is a different story’. Always tough and some-
times brusque, Doyle has worked in the Department
of Finance since and is utterly steeped in its
ways. ‘He is finance, man and boy’, one associate
said. Finance controls the purse strings of other
government departments, and Doyle’s job involves
saying no to many important people. Egos regularly
get bruised, but Doyle’s role is to be cautious, stern
and firm. ‘He is a bruiser, both in appearance and
operation’, said one high-ranking civil servant”.
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Donal McNally
In the running because Donal McNally, an
economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin,
entered the civil service in and after a
brief return to TCD in the s, has a career of
unbroken service since . Having joined the
Department of Finance in , McNally worked
in the Department’s Banking Section, Public
Expenditure Division, Budget and Economic
Division and Corporate Services and Public
Expenditure Divisions. The Dubliner has been
Second Secretary General at the Department of
Finance since , working in particular on
the annual budget. He is a regular fixture at the
Minister for Finance’s side on budget day in the
Dáil, and frequently appears at budget-related
press conferences.
Biggest achievement McNally was closely
involved in the formulation of the McCarthy
report as the highest-ranked Departmental
official on the Special Group on Public Service
Numbers and Expenditure Programmes (An
Bord Snip Nua). McNally also issued the March
letter announcing a moratorium on public
service recruitment and promotion.
Rumour has it that The civil service veteran is
not entirely obsessed with economics, and has a
liking for more frivolous pursuits in bridge and
histor y.
Sir Humphrey Moment There has been a lack
of clarity around Mr McNally’s role in ‘An Bord
Snip Nua’. Although he apparaently co-authored
the ‘McCarthy Report’, his role is described in
the same report as follows, “the Minister [for
Finance] appointed Mr Colm McCarthy, School of
Economics, University College Dublin, as mem-
ber and Chair... along with Mr Donal McNally,
Second Secretary General, Department of
Finance”. The ‘along with’, was a Department
of Finance manoeuvre to maintain status while
avoiding the limelight that was always destined
for McCarthy, a media luminary .
What he says Mr McNally declined to comment
to Village.
What he might say Thanks very much Mr
McCarthy: along with you and our ideas, I could
go far.
Kevin Cardiff
In the running because A relatively late entry
to the public sector, Kevin Cardiff joined the
Department of the Public Service in . A
graduate of the University of Washington and
UCD, Cardiff was appointed as head of the
Department of Finance’s Banking, Finance and
Pensions Division in . He had been involved
in framing the previous two budgets, and helped
to produce much of the current legislation regu-
lating the financial services sector.
Biggest achievement/failure Cardiff was
involved, together with current Secretary
General, David Doyle, and a selection of other
key officials, in the late-night meetings where
the Government’s controversial Bank Guarantee
Scheme was agreed. According to some, Cardiff
and Doyle worked into the early hours on the
press statement announcing the scheme and
the legislation enacting.
Rumour has it that Cardiff was understand-
ably unimpressed when, having endured a
torturous session in front of the Oireachtas
Public Accounts Committee (see below), he
was referred to in the Sunday Independent
as a “Stalinist” by Senator Shane Ross.
What he says “I am very flattered by your
suggestion that I might be a candidate for
Secretary General, but so far as I know the
Government has not sought any expressions
of interest from potential candidates for the
post. I would be uncomfortable in discuss-
ing the replacement of a colleague where I
have no confirmation that a vacancy even
exists, and in any event it is the protocol in
the Department that even the most flatter-
ing of press queries are handled through our
press office”.
Sir Humphrey Moment Cardiff’s appearance
in front of the Oireachtas Public Accounts
Committee on economic regulatory affairs in
July was a masterpiece of poker-faced
obfuscation. Despite aggressive questioning
from Senator Shane Ross, Fine Gael TD Fergus
O’Dowd and other parliamentarians, Cardiff
stood his ground, giving away little informa-
tion. The performance won a certain grudg-
ing admiration from at least one Oireachtas
member, who described him to Village as
“introverted and very skilful”. Cardiff, the
member added, displayed “an expertise in
saying nothing, that is unparalleled”.
“Cardiff was
involved... in
the late-night
meetings where
the Government’s
controversial
Bank Guarantee
Scheme was
agreed”
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