Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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652. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the criteria or instructions which are given to outside consultants in order to perform a given task (details supplied); and if a consultancy is asked to screen applicants for the position of clerical officer, if explicit criteria and qualifications are expressed to the consultants by her Department or other bodies such as the HSA. [21710/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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All Departmental recruitment is undertaken on our behalf by the Public Appointments Service except insofar as Service Grades are concerned which the Department manages itself.  No consultancy would be involved. 

In general, recruitment to the State Agencies under the remit of my Department is carried out through the Public Appointments Service (PAS). However, in some instances it may not be possible to use the services of PAS, for example, for certain specialist posts, or where PAS are not in a position to assist due to the volume of campaigns on hand at a particular time.  In such instances a number of our Agencies have availed themselves of the services of external recruitment consultants and the following summarises the process operated in each case.

When the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) engages outside service providers for recruitment purposes the NSAI provide a job description containing an overview of the post, key tasks and responsibilities, the qualification and experience required and the remuneration of the post.  The NSAI‘s Grade B is equivalent to the Clerical Officer grade and recruitment to any such vacancies is managed directly by the Agency.

In the case of Enterprise Ireland (EI), where a recruitment consultant is engaged to source and/or screen applicants on behalf of EI, a detailed job specification for the relevant role is shared with the recruitment consultant at the outset of the engagement. This job specification outlines the key deliverables of the role and details the key skills and knowledge required to successfully carry out the role. It is explicit on the job specification as to the criteria (skills, experience and/or qualifications) that are considered essential and the recruitment consultant screens and short-list candidates against these criteria prior to providing a short-list to Enterprise Ireland for a full competency based interview. Where EI has engaged the services of a recruitment consultant to source and/or screen applicants for Executive Assistant roles (Level B – equivalent to Clerical Officer), the process outlined above is followed. In addition, to assess applicants’ skill levels, specific skills tests are conducted in relation to computer literacy/proficiency and basic clerical skills. These tests are carried out by the recruitment consultant prior to providing a short-list to Enterprise Ireland for a full competency based interview.

Where a recruitment consultant is assisting the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) in filling positions, they are instructed to screen applicants in accordance with the essential and desirable qualifications and experience as set out in the job description and on the basis of the competencies for the role as also specified in the job description.

Where a recruitment consultant has been engaged by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), candidates are screened using the Job Description and Competencies aligned for the grade – outlining the requirements of the role and also the competencies involved (Competencies taken from PAS); the recruitment consultants then prepare a list of candidates for the CCPC to interview.  This method has been used for the recruitment of Clerical Officers in the CCPC in the past and currently.

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) gives the service provider/consultant a verbal brief and a job description which enables them to screen candidates. SFI does not have any staff at Clerical Officer grade or equivalent.

IDA Ireland, PIAB and IAASA, have advised that they do not use external recruitment consultants.