asked the President whether the Local Appointments Commissioners had before them, among the eleven applications for the position of Borough Surveyor for the City of Waterford, the application of a gentleman, born in Waterford, aged 36 years, who is a Bachelor of Engineering, National University, 1913; Assoc. M.Inst. C.E.. who was Assistant Engineer in 1912 during the construction of the Waterford Bridge; Assistant to Mr. Reade, A.M.I.C.E., Waterford, 1913, and conducted the field work and prepared the plans for the Main Drainage of the City of Kilkenny; who was Chief Assistant to Messrs. Delap and Waller, Consulting Engineers, 115 Grafton Street, Dublin, from September, 1913, to September, 1914; September, 1914-April, 1919. Lieut. R.A.O.C., and Staff Lieut. R.A.F. for two years with the British Forces in France; 1919-1920, Chief Engineer to the Department of Reconstruction, Eastern Macedonia, where he carried out schemes of town planning and reconstruction, including waterworks, drainage, bridges, culverts, light railways; 1920-1924, Municipal Engineer with the Public Works Department, Federated Malay States; 1924 to present time, employed by the Hertfordshire County Council as Resident Engineer; and has prepared plans and drawn maps of the City of Waterford at the request of the late Borough Surveyor, which have been used by the Waterford Corporation for the last 12 years; and if he will state whether any other applicants, including the one selected by the Appointments Commissioners, had anything like the same qualifications; and if he will have inquiries made why this gentleman's name was not submitted to the Waterford Corporation.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - WATERFORD BOROUGH SURVEYOR.
As I stated in my reply to the Deputy on 19th instant, it has not been the practice of the Local Appointments Commissioners to furnish a list of the qualifications of unsuccessful candidates for vacant posts. In settling their practice in this respect and in regard to the recommendation of one name only to local authorities for a vacant office the Commissioners had regard to the objects of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926, which were primarily to secure the election of the best qualified candidate and incidentally to relieve members of local authorities from the embarrassment caused in the past by attempts on the part of candidates to advance their candidature through the exercise of local influence, irrespective of their relative merits. The submission of the names of all qualified candidates would not be calculated to achieve these objects, and if any name other than that of the best qualified applicant were submitted it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to justify the exclusion from the list of any qualified candidate. Furthermore, if the names of the qualified candidates were forwarded in their order of merit, those candidates who had failed to obtain a high place might with reason be apprehensive lest the publication of such a list would adversely affect their professional prospects, with the result that the field of selection would become limited. As I have already informed the Deputy, the Commissioners have been requested by certain unsuccessful candidates to with-hold information as to their place on the list. In the case of the candidate referred to in the question, the Commissioners would not feel justified in disclosing particulars as to the birth-place, qualifications, or the place he secured on the list unless they were definitely assured that he desired that course.
Is it a fact that a statement was recently attributed to the Appointments Commissioners to the effect that, other things being equal, preference would be given to local candidates; has the President seen the qualifications of the successful candidate and, if so, can he say whether the super-qualifications amounted to the fact that he was born in Cork and did not serve in the British Army?
The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and to the latter part in the negative.
Is it not a fact that the earlier practice of the Commissioners was to submit more than one name with a view to giving the local authorities a fair choice of selection in the matter?
No, that was not the practice.
Is the President prepared to deny that in the case of the appointment of Principal to the Pembroke Technical Schools, an appointment made by the Pembroke Urban Council——
That is a separate question.
It is supplementary.
Pembroke is too far from Waterford.
Can the President say whether the successful candidate applied for a similar position in Cork subsequent to his application for the Borough Surveyorship of Waterford?
The Deputy might reasonably understand that that is a question of which notice should be given. I do not, in the first place, acquaint myself with the number of vacancies or the requests from local authorities with which the Commissioners have to deal. In the second place, neither myself nor any other member of the Government, has any association, direct or indirect, with these appointments. Therefore, a question such as that which the Deputy has put to me would require examination.
Will the President make inquiries whether that was the case and, if it was, whether it would be out of all reason to make an appointment in Cork for a Corkman?
If the Deputy will put down a question to me in connection with any of these matters I will be pleased to give all the information I can. In a general answer to the question, I deprecate hasty and pre-judicial judgments being passed on the Commissioners, having regard to the great care which they exercise and the great assistance they get from Selection Boards in making these appointments.
It is not a hasty judgment.
The Deputy does not know the circumstances.