Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 4 Jul 1995

Vol. 455 No. 4

Written Answers. - Civil Service Reinstatement.

Declan Bree

Ceist:

39 Mr. Bree asked the Minister for Finance the reason an application from a person (details supplied) in County Sligo for reinstatement to the Civil Service was unsuccessful; in the interest of openness and transparency, the income limits that apply under section 11 of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956, as amended; the income limit in respect of this person while recognising that the income limits must be applied consistently in all cases; and the amount of means in excess of the income limit which was assessed against this person. [12187/95]

Minister for Finance (Mr. Quinn)

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. That section permits the reinstatement of a woman who resigned 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".

In interpreting these statutory requirements, it has been the practice to regard a married woman as not being supported by her husband if he provides no support — as, for example, in a case of desertion — or where his means are inadequate to provide for her support. Social welfare payments are generally considered adequate to enable a husband to support his wife. However, no applicant is automatically refused because her husband is in receipt of social welfare payments as there may be family or other circumstances which would permit her reinstatement within the terms of the statutory provision.

The reinstatements scheme was challenged some time ago under the provisions of the Employment Equality Act, 1977, and the Labour Court determined that the scheme was discriminatory and contrary to the principle of equal treatment. The court recommended that the relevant statutory provision should be repealed. The complainant in that case has referred the determination to the High Court and the case has not yet been heard. Pending the outcome to that case and the taking of any necessary consequential action, no new applications for reinstatement are being accepted. However, applications submitted before the Labour Court determination issued are being processed to finality and any applicant who satisfies the statutory criteria as of the date of the determination is being offered reinstatement.

The person to whom the question relates applied before the determination issued and, accordingly her application has been processed. However, she did not meet the statutory criteria on the date on which the determination issued and, accordingly, her application was rejected. In assessing whether she was being supported by her husband, the approach outlined above was applied to her case, on the basis of information supplied by her, in precisely the same way as it is applied to all applications. I am not prepared to divulge any of the information on which her application was based as this was supplied in confidence.