asked the Minister for Finance whether he is aware that in the recent open competitive examination for the Executive Grade of the Civil Service several women candidates "qualified" that some of these so "qualified" have been passed over for Civil Service appointments, while men candidates who obtained lower places in the examination results list have received appointments; and if it is intended to offer Civil Service appointments to those "qualified" women before another open competitive examination for the Executive Grade is held.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - WOMEN IN THE CIVIL SERVICE.
It is a fact that several women candidates qualified in the open competitive examination for the Executive Grade referred to in the question. This examination, which was open to both men and women, was announced to be held for not less than thirty places. In fact, thirty-five vacancies in the class have had to be filled, and for these thirty-five vacancies candidates, whether men or women, were called strictly in their order on the results list. No female "qualified" candidate has been passed over for an appointment in the class for which the examination was held. Subsequently to the issue of the result, an urgent demand was received from the Revenue Commissioners for forty male Officers of Customs and Excise. The forty-six candidates who had qualified in the last competitive examination for this class had already been called up and all suitable material that could be recruited by promotion from other permanent grades of the Civil Service had already been exhausted. On the other hand, a number of experienced officers who had been on loan to our service from the British Government were insisting on their being allowed to return to Great Britain, and this circumstance and the imposition of the new duties under the Budget made the immediate recruitment of additional staff imperative. As there was no other means of meeting the situation, the Civil Service Commissioners were asked to consider whether suitable candidates could be supplied from the list of those who were unsuccessful for the vacancies in the Junior Executive examination but attained a standard of qualification sufficient for the post of Customs and Excise Officer. The Commissioners considered the standard sufficient, and as a similar course in filling vacancies for women Writing Assistants by the assignment of women who had qualified in the last examination for men and women Library Assistants had proved satisfactory, men candidates were assigned from the Junior Executive examination list to the vacant Customs and Excise officerships. If before another examination is held for Junior Executive Officers, vacancies suitable for qualified unsuccessful women candidates, in that competition arise, the question of offering such vacancies to those candidates will be favourably considered.