asked the Minister for the Public Service the reason a person (details supplied) in County Dublin who was a successful applicant for Civil Service appointment as a clerical assistant in 1983 was removed from the list of those to whom such a position should be offered after he advised the Civil Service Commission in October of 1985 that prior to taking up a position as clerical assistant he wished to complete third-level studies he had commenced in the autumn of 1983 and which would be completed in June of 1986 and that accordingly he could not take up the position of clerical assistant in October of 1985; and if it is the policy of the Civil Service Commission to require that all of those who succeed in their application for Civil Service employment remain unemployed and take no part in third-level education until the commission offers a job to them.
Written Answers. - Civil Service Appointment.
The circumstances in which the candidature of the person concerned was closed are as follows:
As a result of a written examination held by the Civil Service Commissioners in 1983, the person concerned was placed on a panel for further possible consideration for appointment as clerical assistant. In 1985 sufficient vacancies had arisen to enable him, by reference to his place on the panel, to be considered further. He was therefore interviewed and as a result offered appointment. His response, in writing, to the Civil Service Commission was that after careful consideration he had decided to continue studying for the future and would therefore not be taking up the position of clerical assistant.
As regards the second part of the Deputy's question, it is a matter for each candidate to decide what to do while waiting for the results of competitions or, having qualified, while waiting to see whether he/she will be offered appointment. As far as the Civil Service Commissioners are concerned, their main function is to provide Departments as quickly as possible with qualified candidates to fill vacancies. Any general policy to hold over vacancies for candidates who say they wish to defer taking up appointment for educational or other reasons would cause delays in meeting the staffing needs of Departments and be unfair to other qualified candidates, many of whom would be unemployed school leavers, who wished to enter the Civil Service immediately.