andMr. Aylward asked the Minister for the Public Service the grades of civil servants allowed to be involved actively with political parties; and if he has plans to extend the facility to more senior grades.
Written Answers. - Political Activity of Civil Servants.
375.
Mr. Gene Fitzgerald
The present position regarding civil servants and politics is as follows:
(a) Civil servants are not permitted to stand for election to either House of the Oireachtas, or to the European Parliament. This restriction applies to all categories of staff.
(b) Civil servants in the industrial categories and in manipulative, subclerical and manual grades are free to engage in political activity, subject to the general restriction in relation to parliamentary elections.
(c) Members of the clerical classes in the civil service, and civil servants in non-manipulative grades with salary maxima equal to or below the clerical officer maximum, may apply for permission to engage in politics on the same basis as the staff referred to at (b), but officers employed on particular types of work may have their applications refused.
(d) All civil servants above the clerical level are totally debarred from engaging in politics.
Any relaxation or extension of the rules in respect of higher grades would have inevitable repercussions at policy formation levels, which would lead to an erosion of public confidence in the political impartiality of the service generally. I have no plans at present for such an extension.