I propose to take Questions Nos. 81 and 82 together.
Recruitment to the Civil Service and a range of other public bodies is handled under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 which established a central recruitment agency, the Public Appointments Service (PAS), for this purpose. The PAS operates under licence from the Commission for Public Service Appointments and is independent in its operations.
While the Deputy does not stipulate a particular competition, PAS has confirmed that the individual for whom details were supplied was a candidate for the Temporary Clerical Officer (TCO) campaign which is run annually to meet gaps arising on foot of term-time leave, maternity leave and other short-term staff needs.
In 2014, the TCO campaign attracted 13,200 applications. Given the scale of interest in the competition and urgency of temporary assignments, PAS does not have scope to delay if a candidate cannot take up duty promptly. The Information Booklet for the competition is clear in terms of the obligation on candidates to be available to take up duty when required and to see out the contract.
The needs of departments/offices seeking TCO cover are immediate and typically short-term and as such the system must be responsive. Given the size and complexity of the TCO competition with multiple regional panels and a fast moving process, it would not be feasible for PAS to keep track of candidates who are not available when required but may subsequently become available.
In the specific case raised by the Deputy, the candidate had applied for both the TCO-2013 campaign and the TCO-2014 campaign. He was successfully placed on the panel for Dublin on both occasions. He was assigned from the TCO-2013 panel in February 2014, which was quite late in the currency of that panel. As he performed better in the TCO-2014 competition and was placed higher on the panel for Dublin he was offered a position from the TCO-2014 panel in April 2014. The juxtaposition of a late offer from TCO-2013 and an early offer from TCO-2014 led to an overlap. However, it should be noted that the 2013 and 2014 TCO recruitment campaigns were entirely separate competitions. Candidates are entitled to apply for any number of concurrent PAS campaigns for permanent or temporary positions, but must ultimately make a decision on which offer to take if offers coincide.