Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 6 Jun 1990

Vol. 399 No. 7

Written Answers. - Early Retirement.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

67 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Finance the number of staff at higher executive level and above who took early retirement from the Department of Finance, the Revenue Commissioners or the Central Bank in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 to date and subsequently took employment in the private sector; his views on whether the private sector should gain from the training at public expense of analysts, economists and other experts; if he will introduce a rule similar to that operating in other countries, whereby persons resigning from what might be termed sensitive and important positions in the public sector should not take up similar positions in the private sector until a specified period of time has elapsed.

Minister for Finance (Mr. A. Reynolds)

I have no information available to me on the number of people who took early retirement from the Department of Finance and from the Revenue Commissioners and who subsequently took up employment in the private sector. In respect of the Central Bank, the terms and conditions of appointment of staff employed by them are entirely a matter for the bank.

On the question of the loss to the private sector of experts trained at public expense, the usual practice where the cost of courses of education pursued by civil servants is met by the State is to require the officers concerned to refund the fees or an appropriate part of them if they leave the service within a specified period of completing the course.

I have no plans at present to introduce a regulation prohibiting civil servants resigning from sensitive and important positions from taking up similar positions in the private sector for a specified period. I would point out, however, that the prohibition on the communication of official information under section 4 of the Official Secrets Act, 1963, applies to persons who have retired from public office in relation to information which they obtained or to which they had access before retirement.