Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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77. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the scoring structure used in assessing applications for recruitment to chief officer 2 - work and training in the Irish Prison Service. [24969/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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All internal promotional competitions held by the Irish Prison Service are carried out in line with the Code of Practice issued by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA). This Code provides that "appointments are made following a competitive, merit-based selection process in which all candidates have been treated equally at each stage" and that "decisions taken throughout the selection process are based on the qualifications, attributes and skills necessary to undertake the duties and fulfil the responsibilities of the post to the required standard".

The conditions of the promotional competition referred to by the Deputy were set out in Irish Prison Service Circular 5/2016, which was circulated to all eligible staff. In accordance with the terms of the Circular, the Irish Prison Service provided for a shortlisting stage for this competition. This involved candidates' application forms being assessed by the interview board under the headings of five competencies identified for the role in the Circular, with marks being awarded out of 10 for each competency at shortlisting stage. Candidates who were successful at shortlisting, namely those who were awarded a mark of at least 5 out of 10 for each competency, were invited to interview stage which involved the candidates being assessed under the five competencies, with marks being awarded out of 100 for each competency at interview stage.