Public Appointments Service

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023

Wednesday, 18 January 2023

Questions (407)

Bríd Smith

Question:

407. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if current employment practices of the PAS may be discriminating against highly educated non-Irish nationals in attaining employment opportunities in the public service, specifically in relation to the treatment of graduates from abroad without an Irish education background; if these practices are compatible with EU equality principles; if his Department has any plans to amend current employment practices in the PAS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1258/23]

Written answers

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

PAS utilises recognised standard education comparability frameworks to convert qualifications from non-Irish education institutions into their Irish equivalent, for example NARIC.  By doing this PAS is able to understand if the qualification matches the eligibility criteria as set out as part of a PAS competition.  PAS is satisfied that it has processes in place to assess whether qualifications obtained in other jurisdictions meet the entry requirements for all PAS-run competitions across the public service. 

PAS has developed an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy in order to attract a diversity of applicants for public service roles, which focused on increasing knowledge and understanding of the Irish public sector workforce and recruitment pipelines; ensuring recruitment and selection processes encourage and enable access to candidates from diverse backgrounds; modelling best practice in ED&I at PAS, and support clients in building public sector workplaces that embrace inclusion and reflect society.