asked the President whether, having regard to the large numbers of men demobilised and about to be demobilised from the Army, he will consider the advisability of suspending recruitment for the Civic Guard, the Dublin Metropolitan Police and Civil Service, so as to provide an opportunity for ex-National Soldiers to compete for those posts; and, if so, if he will undertake that when the physical and educational standards of those men are being inquired into, allowance will be made for the fact that they, while on service, had not the opportunities available for men not in the Army?
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - EX-NATIONAL ARMY MEN AND VACANCIES IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE.
The Government has decided that in filling vacancies in the Public Service every possible opportunity is to be taken to reserve employment for men who have served in the Army and are now demobilised.
In filling vacancies in the Gárd Síochána and Dublin Metropolitan Police preference is given to men who have served in the Army, Criminal Investigation Department and Protective Force, and the great majority of such vacancies which occurred during the past year have been filled by men who served in these forces. Of the 200 recruits who have been admitted to the Dublin Metropolitan Police since last August, 160 were accepted from the Army or the Criminal Investigation Department. About 600 ex-soldiers have been admitted to the Gárda Siochána, and twelve Army officers have been appointed to officer rank therein. Preference will continue to be given to ex-Army men in the recruitment of these forces, but having regard to the importance of these qualifications for the efficiency of the forces, it is not proposed to lower the present reasonable physical and educational qualifications demanded from candidates.
As regards the Civil Service, instructions have been issued that a preference is to be given in all cases to ex-Army candidates, and, in particular, all temporary clerical and subordinate posts in the service are reserved exclusively for ex-Army men. In addition, the Civil Service Commission has given preferential treatment to men who served in the Army by holding one examination confined to Army candidates and giving a special advantage to Army candidates in an examination now pending. A further Civil Service examination confined to Army candidates is at present under consideration.
Arising out of that answer, I would like to ask the President if the reference to temporary appointments is meant to refer to purely temporary appointments, or temporary appointments in the technical sense— that is to say, people who are not on the Establishment—and has any change taken place with regard to the proportion of temporary appointments in the technical sense to regular appointments?
I did not quite catch the latter part of that question. I would suggest, in order to put the matter right, that the Deputy put down another question on the subject. It means temporary clerical and subordinate posts in the Service.
Might I ask if some general instruction could be given with regard to those demobilised men throughout the country. Many of us have enormous correspondence on that matter, and we do not know how to deal with it. I think if general instructions were given from your Department, or from that of that hard-hearted Minister, the Minister for Finance——
The Deputy cannot make a speech at this stage.
This is a suggestion.
A suggestion is a speech. If separate questions were put down on these two points I think it would be more satisfactory.
Yes, it would be more satisfactory, and there would be no misunderstanding.