asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health whether, relative to the recent appointment by the Galway Board of Health and Dispensaries Committee of a Clerk of Works in connection with the clearing of a site at Central Hospital, Galway, he is now in a position to state (1) if the position was advertised; (2) what were the terms of the appointment and the qualifications of the person appointed and (3) if application for sanction of the appointment has been made to his Department by the Board of Health, and, if so, whether sanction has been given.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - A Galway Appointment.
Mr. Brodrick
(1) The position being a temporary one was not advertised; (2) the remuneration is four guineas per week; the person appointed is a Bachelor of Engineering of the National University.; (3) application for sanction was received in my Department, and the matter is being dealt with in the ordinary course.
Mr. Brodrick
Does the Parliamentary Secretary not think that this position should have been advertised? Is the Bachelor of Engineering not a man qualified last June, and if the position was advertised might it not be possible to get a man more suitable for it? I should like to know if the Parliamentary Secretary is sanctioning this appointment.
There is no apparent reason why sanction should not issue in this case. The estimated cost of the operation is £1,200, and under the Summary of Regulations in General Order, dated 18th December, 1882, it is laid down in Article 28 that the condition of advertising does not apply to the appointment of any person who may, subject to the Minister's approval, be employed temporarily.
Mr. Brodrick
Will this appointment stand for a building that is to be carried out at a cost of £30,000?
No. The appointment of Clerk of Works in this particular instance refers only to the levelling operations on the site involving a cost of £1,200.
Mr. Brodrick
Is it not another way of placing a Fianna Fáil supporter by not advertising the position?