Vol. 486 No. 6
298 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when the next competition will be held for prison officer vacancies; and the criteria for eligibility for consideration for this competition. [3362/98]
The holding of recruitment competitions is a matter for the Civil Service Commissioners and I have been advised that a competition for the grade of prison officer will take place in April.
In this context my Department and the commissioners recently undertook a review of existing recruitment procedures following which it was considered that changes were required to underpin recruitment methods for the next prison officer competition. It was decided, therefore, to engage expertise from outside the Civil Service to assist the Department and the commissioners in a detailed job analysis of the role and essential human attributes of the prison officer in a modern prison service. This analysis, which is ongoing, will address the criteria for eligibility.
