Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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302. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to recruit for public service positions in the Galway region; and if so, when this recruitment will begin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29525/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware the Public Appointments Service (PAS) is the centralised recruiter for the Civil and Public Service. It is an independent, statutory body which provides professional recruitment and selection services. Through its selection competitions PAS establishes panels of suitably qualified individuals from which vacancies may be filled. The number of positions available to any particular panel depends on the demand from departments/offices and that demand is subject to their pay and numbers allocation.

For example, the previous Clerical Officer recruitment campaign advertised in June2014 attracted over 28,000 applications and panels of qualified candidates were established for locations where vacancies have been notified to PAS. In such instances candidates who have chosen the particular location/region, and who have qualified through the selection process are placed on a panel for that region. Vacancies notified to PAS are then filled from these panels.  I understand that PAS made 78 clerical assignments from the 2014 competition to the Galway/Clare region.

A new clerical officer competition was advertised in May 2016, which garnered almost 30,000 applications.  Applicants could select up to two regional locations. Candidates completed online assessments at Stage 1, and those highest placed candidates for all regions are currently being invited to Stage 2 supervised tests. Candidates placed up to 220 on the order of merit for Galway were invited to test in early October.  We expect Stage 3 interviews to take place in the coming weeks. Once this panel is established it will replace the panel for Galway/Clare from the 2014 competition.  Assignments will be made to Galway according to order of merit placing, as vacancies arise.  While every effort is made to make sure that panels are not large, placement on panels is no guarantee of appointment to a position.