asked the Minister for Finance if, further to a reply of 27th October on the subject of post office temporary clerks, in which the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs stated that the question of holding a confined competition to afford temporary clerks an opportunity of securing established appointments is a matter for decision by the Minister for Finance, he will now arrange for the holding of such a confined competition for these clerks.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Post Office Temporary Clerks.
9.
The question of holding a confined competition in this particular instance is a matter appropriate for discussion under the agreed scheme of conciliation and arbitration for the Civil Service.
The general principles governing the grant of established status to unestablished officers have been covered in an agreed recommendation made under the scheme by the General Council and accepted by one of my predecessors. One of these principles is that officers, to be given the opportunity of obtaining established status, should have served satisfactorily for a specified minimum period which should normally be not less than three years. The temporary clerks referred to in the question were recruited in 1965 and 1966 on a purely temporary basis and they were so informed at the time of recruitment. In these circumstances I do not consider that the holding of a confined competition would be warranted.