Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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145. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of employees of his Department that were dismissed in each of the years 2016 to 2018 and to date 2019; the reason for the dismissal of each employee; the number of employees suspended in the same period; and the reason for the suspension of each in tabular form. [48076/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Compliance with the Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour is a condition of employment within the Department of Justice and Equality. When a concern arises about the conduct or performance of an individual, their line manager will initially address it as a management issue through discussion and appropriate assistance.

If no resolution is reached, or, where more serious circumstances arise, the Civil Service Disciplinary Code (Circular 19/2016) is applied. This Code outlines the procedure for dealing with disciplinary matters, including grounds for dismissal in the Civil Service and is available online at:

New entrants to the Civil Service are appointed on the basis of a one-year probationary contract. If the new entrant does not reach the required standards during this period, the termination of their contract is carefully considered. The legislative provisions governing probation are set out in the Civil Service Regulation Act 1956 (as amended).

Since 2016, there have been nine dismissals from my Department, as outlined in the table below. Given the small number of individuals in question, it is not possible to set out the reasons for dismissal in these cases, as to do so may lead to a disclosure of personal information with respect to identifiable individuals.

There were no suspensions during the period referred to.