asked the Taoiseach if candidates for medical vacancies, under the Local Appointments Commission, are entitled to know: (a) the professional qualifications and experience taken into account by the commissioners; and (b) the system of marking adopted by the commission in filling such vacancies; and if not, if he will give the reasons why.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Candidates for Medical Appointments.
Dr. Lynch
The regulations, etc., supplied by the Local Appointments Commissioners to candidates for medical appointments give them information both as to the qualifications and experience prescribed as essential for the particular position and (in general terms) the qualifications and experience which though not essential are regarded as very desirable and would be taken into account by the commissioners. To that extent candidates are informed of the professional qualifications and experience taken into account by the commissioners.
The commissioners regard it as of vital importance that the marking systems on which the merits of candidates are assessed should be treated as strictly confidential by the Local Appointments Commission and by the large number of professional men and others who give their services as members of interview boards. If these marking systems were communicated to candidates the inevitable result would be a demand by them for particulars of assessments made in their regard under the various headings. Their professional fellows who had acted on the boards would consequently be exposed to criticism by the candidates and embarrassment. It would be too much to hope that under such circumstances they would continue to be willing to act and the commissioners would almost certainly be deprived of the valuable services of many eminent professional men.
Arising out of the Taoiseach's reply, where in effect Irish is an indispensable qualification for a dispensary or medical appointment, does he not think that that should be stated plainly in the conditions so that men of comparative distinction in their professional field would not be recorded as presenting themselves for dispensary posts, and having persons of certainly no greater distinction preferred to them, not exclusively on professional grounds but substantially because the one professed to know Irish and the other did not?
The regulations, as far as Irish is concerned, have been read out by me on several occasions. The general conditions governing posts in which Irish is regarded as essential have been published and are well known, and I do not see why we should repeat them in a particular case.
Is the Taoiseach aware that in the case of certain dispensaries in the West of Ireland the importance attached to a knowledge of Irish seems to bulk larger than any other, with the result that there have been cases of doctors in pretty prominent positions offering themselves for dispensaries and of having men very much junior to them preferred, the explanation being that the junior spoke Irish better than the senior, thus creating the professional impression that the junior was more proficient than the senior man? Is that fair?
I am not going to pass judgment on these cases. What I do say is that the regulation with regard to Irish is well known generally. It is known to the individual candidates who propose to present themselves, and is set out in the conditions governing the post which each candidate gets.
Dr. Lynch
asked the Taoiseach if he is aware that all candidates for medical appointments, under the Local Appointments Commission, must present themselves for interview by a selection board set up for that purpose; and whether, to obviate loss of time and expense, he will consider advising the commissioners to introduce a system, such as operates in the filling of similar vacancies elsewhere, whereby only a select list of candidates, who have some prospect of success, will be called for interview.
I am aware that as stated by the Deputy the present practice is to call all candidates for interview. I am informed by the Local Appointments Commissioners, however, that they have at various times considered the possibility of adopting an alternative on the lines suggested by him; and that after careful consideration they have come to the conclusion that it would not be practicable to introduce a system of short-listing. Apart from certain administrative difficulties which would be involved it would be difficult to deny to any candidate claiming the required qualifications the opportunity of proving before the interview board the value of his qualifications and experience having regard to those of the other candidates.
Would the Taoiseach not consider that where Irish is an essential qualification for a medical post, it would be desirable to hold some kind of an eliminating test so that those who had no hope of qualifying on the language ground would be spared the experience of offering themselves for a professional competition and having to be under the obloquy of having someone preferred to them, as the public imagine, for professional reasons?
It is apparent that the Deputy does not want to leave anything to the candidates themselves or to their own judgment in the matter.
I do.
Will the Taoiseach say why the procedure should be refused in the case of medical appointments that is insisted on in the case of engineering appointments?
If the Deputy will put down a special question I will have the matter examined.
The Taoiseach lays down a kind of general regulation with regard to the Local Appointments Commissioners. There recently was at least one case where an engineering appointment was being made and the commissioners declined to allow a number of candidates to be interviewed.
I do not know of any case. If the Deputy has any particular case in mind, or if he has any particular point to raise, he will have to put it to me by way of question.
It was an engineering appointment in the case of the Port and Docks Board.
I do not know the particular case, and even now I do not know the particular appointment the Deputy is referring to.
I am referring to the question as to why, in the cases of new appointments, certain arrangements could not be made that would obviate expense on the part of the people and the Taoiseach replies that they must all be allowed to go forward. Why are they not all allowed to go forward in the case of engineering appointments?
I will have to examine into the particular matter. I am not aware of the particular case to which the Deputy is referring. I am told by my colleague that it was not a local appointments matter, but I do not know.
It was the Local Appointments Committee.
They were acting at the request of the Dublin Port and Docks Board.
I think the best thing to do in this particular case would be to specify to me what the case is and give me an opportunity of examining it.