asked the President whether a Selection Board has been appointed by the Local Appointments Commission to select maternity and other nurses for appointment to the County Home, District Hospitals and Dispensary areas in Tirconaill, and, if so, if he will state the names, addresses and number of persons comprising this Board; also, whether similar Selection Boards have been established in other counties, and if he will state the reasons for the creation of such Boards.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - TIRCONAILL MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS.
It is the practice of the Local Appointments Commissioners in accordance with the provisions of Section 9 of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926, to convene Boards of Selection to interview candidates for maternity and other nursing posts, and positions generally, where the merits and suitability of the applicants cannot be, or can only partially be, assessed by means of the competitive system of examination provided for in Section 7 of that Act. Such Boards have met in connection with vacancies of this kind in Tirconaill and other counties, and their reports have been of substantial assistance to the Commissioners in determining the best qualified candidate for a particular office. The personnel of these Boards varies and care is taken to ensure that they include persons of technical or professional qualifications allied to the post under consideration. Membership of a Selection Board is purely honorary, and it is not desirable to furnish the names and addresses of those who have so generously given their services for this purpose.