Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 July 2021
102. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of persons recruited into the civil service in 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021 on panels specifically reserved for those with a competency in Irish; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38691/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Public Appointments Service (PAS) is the independent recruiter for appointments to the civil service. All recruitment is demand-led and PAS undertakes competitions on behalf of the civil service to establish panels that may be drawn upon as vacancies arise in Government Departments or Offices.
Irish speaking candidates may apply for general civil service roles by way of specific bilingual competitions or, alternatively, they may apply for non-bilingual competitions and note their expression of interest for Irish-speaking or bilingual posts. Separate ad hoc specialist competitions may also be held periodically for more technical roles that require Irish fluency such as Aistritheoir, Parliamentary Reporter and School Inspector.
It should be noted that the placement of any candidate on a particular competition panel is not an offer of employment. Recruitment is demand led and a panel may be drawn upon as and when vacancies arise during the lifetime of the panel.
Details of general service vacancies filled by Irish language candidates during the period 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2021 are set out below:
|
Grade |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 (to 30 June) |
Total |
|
Clerical Officer |
15 |
4 |
9 |
28 |
|
Executive Officer |
1 |
18 |
14 |
33 |
|
Total |
16 |
22 |
23 |
61 |
This is in addition to specialist vacancies filled by Irish language candidates during the period 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2021, details of which are set out below:
|
Grade |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 (to 30 June) |
Total |
|
Specialist |
11 |
4 |
5 |
20 |
A nationwide Irish language Clerical Officer competition is presently underway for the Civil Service by PAS. I understand that PAS will commence planning for a new Irish language Executive Officer competition during Q3 2021.
The Deputy will be aware that the Official Languages (Amendment) Bill 2019, currently before the Houses of the Oireachtas, proposes a 20% Irish language fluency target for all new hires to the public service by 2030 in line with Programme for Government commitments. The implementation of the Government’s Rural Development Strategy “Our Rural Future” that was launch in March by the Minister for Community and Rural Development, may also provide enhanced opportunities for Irish-speaking roles in the public service in the years ahead.
