asked the Minister for the Public Service the present position in relation to the operation of the top level appointments committee (TLAC) in the Department of Finance; and if the system is fully operational and if it is over the initial problems it encountered.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Top Level Appointments Committee.
1.
To date the committee have not recommended on the filling of any posts in the Department of Finance because no vacancies at the relevant levels have occurred in that Department since the new scheme came into operation. However, officers of the Department of Finance have applied for vacancies elsewhere in exactly the same way as officers from other Departments and, indeed, an officer from the Department of Finance has been appointed to a post in another Department.
I am aware that staff in the Department of Finance and indeed in other Departments have expressed concern about the comparability of the performance assessments which have been made by the heads of individual Departments for the committee's use. I understand that this is a matter to which the committee are giving attention in consultation with the Departments concerned.
As part of an ongoing process of appraisal the committee will shortly be seeking further assessments. I would not be disposed to get involved in this aspect of the committee's operations.
Is it true that the secretary of the Department of Finance has stated that he has not complied with the regulations of the Top Level Appointments Committee with the result that officers of that Department have been put at a serious disadvantage in relation to their colleagues in other Departments when seeking appointments?
I am not so aware. The individual heads of the Departments prepared assessments and returned them to the committee. The procedure that is now being adopted is that the assessment forms are being somewhat refined and a further series of assesment are due. It is hoped that assessments will continue to be obtained on an ongoing basis so that a profile will be built up over a passage of time regarding the cadre of eligible people. One of the concerns of the committee was to assess the comparability of the assessments, as between one Department and another, and that is a matter to which they have been giving considerable attention in recent times. Obviously, it is an important consideration in the context of the usefulness of the assessments.
It is my understanding that under the regulations of the Top Level Appointments Committee heads of Departments are asked to assess an officer's overall performance in comparison with the generality of officers in their experience of the level in question in the Civil Service generally. I understand that the secretary of the Department of Finance has not done that. Therefore, officers in that Department eligible to go forward for promotions are not doing so on the basis of the regulations or on an equal basis with their colleagues in other Departments. If the Minister is aware of that, will he give an assurance that the officers in the Department of Finance will be treated on an equal basis with their colleagues in other Departments?
I would certainly be very concerned if it emerged that there was any substance in the apprehension that is inherent in the Deputy's question. An officer from the Department of Finance has gone already to another Department on promotion. That, to some extent, indicates that officers in Finance have been given very reasonable consideration in so far as one of them was successful in promotion to a line Department. I would be as concerned as the Deputy to ensure that the senior officials in all Departments are given fair and reasonable consideration. I will take the matter up with the Top Level Appointments Committee if the Deputy thinks that might be helpful.
I should like to thank the Minister for his assurance, because it is felt by the officers in Finance generally that they are being treated on a different basis and that their rating is being treated differently. I should like to ask the Minister to take up this matter at an early date and, if necessary, have discussions with the Association of Higher Civil Servants who have been in correspondence with the Minister for Finance and the secretary of the Department for several months on this matter but have failed to solve it.