Departmental Staff Promotions

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 November 2013

Thursday, 14 November 2013

Questions (139)

Finian McGrath

Question:

139. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a competition for promotion held in 2011 for the position of assistant principal officer gave rise to a number of complaints among candidates; if he will confirm that complaints were made to the Commission for Public Service Appointments in respect of this competition; his views on the findings and recommendations made by the CPSA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48712/13]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

The competition in question was a confined appointment process for the position of Assistant Principal and took place in 2010. There were a total of 102 applicants of which 55 were short-listed for interview. Three applicants sought a review in accordance with the Commission for Public Service Appointments' Code of Practice.

Two of the requests for review related to decisions in the short-listing process. The third request for review was related to the interview process and it was this request that was referred to the Commission by way of an appeal of the review carried out by the Department.

The Commission was satisfied that all of the candidates in the process were treated in a consistent manner. Some shortcomings in how the selection criteria were defined were identified and the Department has taken account of the Commission's recommendations in any subsequent competitions.