Pat Deering
Question:90. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the process for entry to the Civil Service; when it will open; and if there will be a regional breakdown of the applications. [8381/15]
View answerWednesday, 25 February 2015
Questions (90)
Written answers
Recruitment to the Civil Service is regulated by the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004. The Act established the Public Appointments Service (PAS) as the centralised recruitment body for the Civil and Public Service. The Act also established the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA) as the regulator of civil service recruitment. The CPSA publishes codes of practice setting out how competitions are run and also issues recruitment licences to individual Departments to allow them to conduct their own recruitment.
Recruitment competitions are advertised on www.publicjobs.ie. By logging on to this website, individuals can also register to be notified by e-mail or text message of vacancies as they arise. Most recruitment competitions will have regional options and candidates will be asked to express a regional preference as part of the application process.
The majority of recruitment to the Civil Service is carried out by the PAS and the following competitions across a broad range of Civil Service grades are ongoing at present:
- Clerical Officer;
- Administrative Officer (i.e. the graduate recruitment grade for the Civil Service), for general service as well as for the Irish Government Economic Evaluation Service (IGEES);
- Executive Officer (both for general service and for the ICT area); and
- Principal Officer.
In the main, vacancies in the Civil service are filled on a permanent basis. However, temporary vacancies arise from time to time to cover such absences as maternity leave or shorter working year, and where a permanent vacancy will not exist. Temporary Clerical Officer (TCO) positions in the Civil Service are filled by an annual competition conducted by the PAS which is usually advertised in February. The next TCO competition will be advertised shortly and will include both Dublin and regional panels, Departments and Offices can then call from these panels in accordance with business needs.