Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023
405. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Public Appointments Service can adequately evaluate non-nationals applying for jobs in the public service who may have higher level qualifications such as level 9 and but not have an Irish Leaving Certificate; if any weight or account is presently taking by the PAS when looking at such applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1256/23]
View answerPAS utilises recognised standard education comparability frameworks to convert qualifications from non-Irish education institutions into their Irish equivalent, for example, NARIC By doing this we are able to understand if the qualification matches or exceeds the eligibility criteria as set out as part of a PAS competition. Only qualifications that are stated as requirements, or as desirable criteria, are taken into account for our General Grade and Professional and Technical roles; this is to ensure fairness for all candidates. If the Executive Officer grade is taken as an example, the only educational required per DPER guidelines is that candidates must: (i) have obtained a minimum Level 7 qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications; or have obtained in the Established Leaving Certificate Examination a minimum of Grade D (or post 2017 Leaving Certificate O6 grade) at Ordinary level in Mathematics and Irish or English, having obtained a minimum of Grade C (or post 2017 Leaving Certificate H4 grade) in at least five subjects at Higher level; or hold a qualification, that in the opinion of the Public Appointments Service, is of a standard in terms of both level and volume of learning that is of at least an equivalent or higher standard; i.e. a qualification that is equal to a full Level 5 Major award or above on the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) National Framework of Qualifications.
Candidates must in addition to meeting all stated requirements also obtain qualifying scores in the competition assessments. Orders of merits for candidates are based on their performance in the assessment stages e.g. interviews.
