asked the Minister for Finance whether any appointments as legal advisers or standing counsel have been made to any Government Department since 1st January, 1948; and, if so, if he will give particulars of the Departments concerned, the persons appointed and the salaries and other conditions attaching to the posts, and also if he will state whether the appointments were made through the Civil Service Commission and whether the vacancies had been advertised.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Legal Advisers to Government Departments.
Only one appointment of a legal adviser to a Government Department has been made since 1st January, 1948. This was the appointment of Mr. T.J.A. Donovan as legal adviser to the Department of Lands at a salary of £1,609-£1,786 a year, and the appointment was subject to the usual conditions of service applicable to established civil servants. Mr. Donovan secured this post through open competition conducted by the Civil Service Commissioners. The competition was duly advertised.
The following appointments as standing counsel to Government Departments were made since 1st January, 1948:—
Mr. A.G. MacDowell to the Department of Posts and Telegraphs;
Mr. T.F. O'Higgins to the Department of Posts and Telegraphs (in succession of Mr. MacDowell);
Mr. R.N. Cooke to the Valuation Office.
Standing counsel are remunerated on a fee basis, the fees for the work performed being assessed by reference to the scale normally payable to counsel for such work. As the appointments were not to posts in the Civil Service, they were outside the scope of the Civil Service Regulation Acts and, accordingly, did not fall to be made through the Civil Service Commission. The vacancies were not advertised.