Nora Owen
Ceist:36 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Finance the conditions under which reinstatement of a female applicant in the Civil Service will be considered.
Written Answers. - Reinstatement of Women in Civil Service.
The only basis in law for reinstatement is contained in section 11 of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956, as amended by the Civil Service (Employment of Married Women) Act, 1973.
Section 11 of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956, (as amended) provides for the reinstatement of women in certain circumstances, namely, if she was a civil servant, retired from the Civil Service for the purposes of, on or following marriage, and
... is for the time being a widow or a woman who did not get married or in respect of whom it is established to the satisfaction of the Minister for Finance that she is not being supported by her husband.
There is no other statutory authority for the reinstatement of women to the Civil Service. I should point out that the above provision is an exceptional arrangement — in general, the only way in which a civil servant who resigns can re-enter the Civil Service is by applying for and being successful in an open competition conducted by the Civil Service Commissioners.