asked the Minister for Finance if he will state the manner in which the recently appointed place names officer in the Valuation Office was recruited; the name of the person appointed; the object of the appointment; the salary scale attached to the post; and the initial entrance point of the appointee on the salary scale.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Valuation Office Appointment.
The place names officer appointed to the Ordnance Survey Office was recruited through the Civil Service Commissioners in the usual way, after due advertisement, by open competition which took the form of written and oral examinations and an interview; the successful candidate was Ruaidhri de Valera, M.A.; the object of the appointment was to provide an officer to assist the director working under the Commission on Irish Place Names about to be set up and ultimately to provide an expert in Irish place names for the Ordnance Survey Office and one with a knowledge of archaeology if such could be obtained; the salary scale attached to the post is, as was advertised, £150 rising by annual increments of £15 to £400, plus bonus, for a married man, and £150, rising by annual increments of £10 to £300, plus bonus, for a woman or unmarried man; the initial point of entrance was determined in accordance with the advertisement and the conditions of service communicated to the candidates, namely, one point higher, to a limit of five points, for every year of post-graduate experience which the successful candidate could show to be of value for his work in the post; the officer appointed was given credit for five points, having had over six years' such experience, including post-graduate work and service in the Army, and he accordingly entered the scale at the point £200 plus bonus.
Would the Minister say what was the object of this job which was made for the Taoiseach's son?
The Deputy will sit down. He should not make charges of that description.
It is true. The Minister has said that Mr. Ruaidhri de Valera secured the appointment.
I want to say that long before the post was advertised consideration was given to appointing a place names officer in the Valuation Office. The first suggestion made by an officer of my Department for the filling of that post was to second a person from the Museum for that office at a salary which was almost twice the salary that was offered for this particular post when it was advertised. If Deputy Flanagan thinks that this State cannot use the services of a well qualified man——
The Taoiseach's son.
——who got first-class honours——
Is the Minister making a speech?
——who got first in Celtic Studies the year in which he got his degree, who is a First Class Honours M.A. in Archaeology, who was a lecturer in Maynooth on Celtic Studies and who is in every way the most suitable candidate for the post, because he is the Taoiseach's son, I do not agree with him.
Is the Minister aware that there were applicants for this position who were unemployed and the Taoiseach's son was the best qualified because of his father's influence?
That is a lie.
It is, and everybody knows it.
The Deputy should be called upon to withdraw that remark.
It is jobbery. Come down to Question No. 50 and you will see about his son-in-law with another job.
The Deputy should conduct himself and keep within the ordinary decencies of debate.
That can be applied to the far side of the House—Deputy Killilea again.
The Deputy should observe the ordinary decencies of debate. The answers to the remaining questions will be published in the Official Report.
Would it not be possible to have a question repeated, if a Deputy so desires?
If Deputies persist in interrupting and putting too many supplementaries, it is not my fault.
I should like to have Question No. 50 repeated. It is a question in connection with another appointment—similiar to the one the Taoiseach's son secured.
The Deputy may repeat the question.