Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Civil Service just ploughs along. If, under the Ministers and Secretaries Acts, a Minister wants to take issue with a Secretary General, for example, and wants to throw one out, he or she could, theoretically do that. In practice, however, none do so. Over the level of principal officer, in the Civil Service, therefore, we have no head and, in fact, there is no disciplinary process or oversight at all, other than the Minister. Is that not the case?