Five Temporary Clerical Officers were employed by my Department over the last 3 years, none of whom were retired public/civil servants.
Recruitment to the Civil Service is governed by the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act, 2004 and by the Civil Service Regulation Acts, 1956-2005. The 2004 Act established the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA) and the Public Appointments Service (PAS). The CPSA is the regulator of public service recruitment in Ireland and the PAS provides a centralised recruitment, assessment and selection body for the Civil Service.
The CPSA has developed Codes of Practice to apply to open recruitment and internal promotion competitions. The Codes cover the areas of probity, selection on the basis of merit, equity and fairness, protection of the public interest, implementation of best practice and good governance. Selection processes must focus on the competencies required for a post and there is no provision under the Codes to focus recruitment for posts in the Civil Service on the basis of age. All eligible candidates must be considered on an equal basis.