Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)

This section of the Bill deals with exclusion orders which can be made in certain circumstances to allow recruitment to certain unestablished posts to take place in an expeditious fashion. In any event, section 13 requires the commission to establish standards of probity, merit, equity and fairness and these standards will necessarily underpin all the activities and judgments of the commission, including the decision of when, whether and to whom to grant an excluding order. Senators can be assured that the commission will act in the public interest at all times and also provide that any recruitment process is undertaken in accordance with the principles set out in the Bill. I cannot accept the amendment.

The Senator raised the issue of special advisers and mentioned the suspicion which is not uncommon among Opposition Members. That amendment was taken at an early stage in the Dáil to exclude, beyond any doubt any opportunity of a special adviser being recruited into the Civil Service unless they went back to base and applied in the same manner as anyone else. We heeded that suspicion. There are no circumstances, unless there is a change in this Bill and another Bill, that a special adviser hired in a temporary, unestablished capacity could become a permanent adviser. Those amendments were accepted in the Dáil. There should be no further suspicions or concerns.