Results 781-800 of 1,683 for speaker:Derek McDowell

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Unless I have missed something and although I can anticipate the Minister of State's response, it is regrettable that there is no minimum gender requirement included in the Bill. For a number of years it was the practice to do so, although I know it is not in vogue with the current Minister for Finance. It is regrettable, however, that there is no requirement for gender balance.

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: What role will the commission have in respect of promotion procedures? Section 58 states that the promotion competitions will be carried out in accordance with the codes of practice. Does this in some way confer a power on the commission to change the way in which promotion competitions are carried out? For example, a certain number of posts are generally held over for internal competition...

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Will the power to decide what proportion should be recruited internally as against across Departments still lie with the management of Civil Service, as is the case currently, rather than with the commission or the PAS?

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Can that power at some point be exercised by the PAS?

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: That means that the role of the PAS is purely to carry out the competition according to rules set by others, but within their own codes of practice.

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Will the Minister of State indicate to which Departments he intends to extend it and the roll out procedure he has in mind? The Bill will apply in the first instance to a certain number of jobs over a period of time. This section gives the Minister the power to roll it out by order. How will that process work? Where will it start and what roll out procedure does the Minister have in mind?

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: This is largely an empowering Bill that envisages that PAS will take over Civil Service Commission responsibilities on its first day and that some Departments will look for permission to do their own recruitment. What does the Minister see happening? Will the PAS act in effect as the Civil Service Commission upon enactment and for some time afterwards, with recruitment at arm's length the...

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: The Minister of State does not envisage that the Department of Transport, for example, based in Dublin, might decide that it wants to recruit all its road engineers directly for Dublin-based jobs. Does he see it as something Departments with sections down the country will choose to do? Is that a fair summary of his views? On the face of it, there is nothing to prevent the Department of Health...

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: It is pertinent to this section.

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: The issue of advisers occasioned some debate in the other House. The central question is why the section is in the Bill. Why is it necessary to exclude certain appointments temporarily from the ambit of the Act? I will not go over the Dáil debate as we all know the merits and otherwise of it. It would be a waste of the time of the House. Suffice to say most of us are satisfied with the way...

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Will an exclusion order be necessary to employ a special adviser? Will the positions have to be explicitly excluded from the Act?

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Coming at it from the other angle, is it therefore conceivable or possible, given that the discretion is vested in the commission, that it could decide not to allow the Minister to appoint a special adviser and not make an exclusion order?

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: While I do not have a problem in principle with the section, was it included because somebody in the Department thought it was a good idea to empower the CPSA and PAS to charge fees or is it actually intended that they will do so?

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I ask the Minister of State to clarify the section as I have a couple of concerns about it. I would be relieved if he gave us the benefit of his speaking note because it is the only section that indirectly creates a criminal offence.

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Interestingly, the Minister referred to the word "interference" which is perfectly reasonable, whereas the section uses the term "interfered improperly" which implies that there is a measure of interference that is not improper. Perhaps I am being too legalistic but we need to be clear as to what is proper and improper interference with the process. If I have understood the general thinking...

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I thank the Minister of State for his helpful reply. For the sake of argument, let us take the example of a public representative who communicates with the PAS to inquire how a particular applicant's case stands, as public representatives sometimes do although perhaps not in the case of the Civil Service Commission. While he or she does not state that candidate X is a brilliant man or woman,...

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Would such a representation be deemed to be improper interference?

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Is it true that such an inquiry is not illegal and would not invite the sanction stipulated in this legislation?

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: It would not be the first time that public representatives did something like that.

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I understand this amendment but I do not understand that restriction whereby the provision in section 17(1) applies only to section 5(d) rather than section 5 in its entirety.