Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 54: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if appointments at principal officer level and above have been opened to external competition; and if any appointments at this level and above have been made from outside traditional Civil Service structures. [28637/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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As part of the reform of the public service, the Government is committed to the introduction of new skills and talent across all Departments. In the Programme for Government we have said that appointments at Principal Officer level and above will be open to external competition.

Since the introduction of the moratorium on recruitment and promotion in March 2009 no general open recruitment campaigns have taken place for positions in the civil service. Some specialised recruitment has taken place where there is a clear and targeted identification of specific skills needs. For example, in late 2010 the Revenue Commissioners recruited by open competition Principal Officers and Assistant Principal Officers with relevant skills (taxation, IT and audit) and Solicitors. The competition resulted in a very significant proportion of appointments from the private sector. Of the 4 appointed to Principal Officer, all were from the private sector, of the 22 appointed to Assistant Principal Officer, 18 were from the private sector and of the 2 Solicitors appointed, one was from the private sector.

In relation to appointments above Principal Officer level, the Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC) holds competitions for and advises Ministers/Government as appropriate on appointments to civil service posts at Secretary General, Deputy Secretary and Assistant Secretary and equivalent levels. Since early 2007 the policy has been that open competitions are held for Assistant Secretary and Deputy Secretary and equivalent posts and more recently this policy has been extended to Secretary General posts, with the exception of a limited number of Secretary General posts which are filled by the Government without a TLAC competition. In 2010 and 2011 (to date) six appointments have been made from TLAC competitions from the private/ broader public sector.

In respect of future recruitment campaigns any decisions will be taken in the context of the business needs of the relevant organisation, the moratorium on recruitment and promotion and any redeployment arrangements agreed for the civil and public service.