The Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act, 2004 was enacted in October 2004. The Act provides for a new system of recruitment licensing within the Civil Service and for the establishment of the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA) and the Public Appointments Service (PAS).
The CPSA is responsible for setting standards for recruitment and selection (including promotion) and is charged with monitoring compliance with those standards by all Civil Service bodies. The standards for recruitment and selection are set out in Codes of Practice published by the CPSA and are available at www.cpsa-online.ie
The Act provides for recruitment to established and unestablished posts in the Civil Service to be carried out under licence and in accordance with the CPSA's Codes of Practice. The Codes provide for the core principles of probity and fairness, selection on the basis of merit and the implementation of best practice in recruitment and selection. The Act does not provide any mechanism for "reinstatement".