asked the Minister for Finance whether he is prepared to give temporary clerks in Government employment an opportunity of entering the established Civil Service by raising the age limit for the examinations in the case of such clerks or by holding special examinations limited to such clerks.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - GOVERNMENT TEMPORARY CLERKS.
TOMAS MAC EOIN
The next examination to be held for permanent clerical appointments in the service will be limited to Temporary Clerks now serving in Government Offices, and a special extension of the normal age limit for such appointments will be allowed to entrants for this competition.
What extension will it be?
That has not been decided yet.
Has any provision been made by which temporary clerks may sit at the examination announced for Junior Executive Officers?
That was not contemplated.
Will the Minister consider the matter? Does he realise that no civil service examinations have been held since 1913; that there is a very large number of clerical officers whose capacity would be such that if an examination of this particular standard had been held since then they would have been eligible by educational qualifications for it, and that if this examination is now held, without any provision being made by which temporary officers can sit for it, that they are practically excluded from entering by competitive examination the ranks of Junior Executive Officers, because it may be some time before a similar examination will be held?
Officers of that sort, of course, if they qualify by a clerical examination and are of the type suited for promotion, will have opportunities of entering the Executive grade by promotion. Exceedingly large numbers have in recent years entered the Executive grade by promotion.