Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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70. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the current status of the clerical officer panel in the public service; if those on this panel may expect to be called to fill posts that may arise into the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26316/14]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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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.

No Public Service Clerical Officer panels for permanent appointment are currently active due to the lapse of time since competitions were run.  As the Deputy is aware, there has been a moratorium in place since 2008 which has severely curtailed recruitment to permanent positions, other than to those with critical replacement needs and key skills shortages.  The last competition of this type was launched in 2007 and will not be revisited for offers of appointment at this stage.  However, the Deputy may wish to note that it is anticipated that a new campaign for Public Service Clerical Officer will be advertised by PAS shortly and applications are welcome from interested parties.

Temporary Clerical Officer (TCO) campaigns are typically run each year to facilitate the filling of short-term vacancies/absences without conflicting with Government policy in reducing overall Civil Service numbers.  Interviews for candidates under consideration for the TCO 2014 competition are ongoing and placements are expected to continue as required throughout the year.