Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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166. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is satisfied that the agreed top-level appointments code of practice of the Office of the Commission for Public Servant Appointments was followed in the recent advertisement for the role of Secretary General of the Department of Health. [2182/21]

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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167. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Secretary General of his Department or a person who reports to the Secretary General is part of the top-level appointments committee that undertook the competition for the role of Secretary General of the Department of Health. [2183/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 166 and 167 together.

The position of Secretary General for the Department of Health was advertised on 8 January 2021 by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) at the request of the Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC).

The Government has a policy of open recruitment and the role of TLAC, as an independent body, is to support that and ensure that the recruitment and selection process for senior Civil Service posts - at Assistant Secretary General level and upwards - is accessible to the widest pool of qualified candidates.

TLAC operates under the Code of Practice issued by the Commission for Public Service Appointments in accordance with the principles of merit, consistency, accountability, probity, best practice and professional confidentiality.

Further information on the role and functions of TLAC, including details of the membership of TLAC, is available at the following link:

As noted in the Competition Booklet for this position, which is available at the link below, the deadline for the receipt of applications is 28 January 2021.

In addition to advertisement on the publicjobs.ie portal, the position has been advertised online on selected relevant websites (Execjobs, The Guardian, the Health Services Journal, sponsored ad on LinkedIn) and through targeted social media. PAS issued job alerts by email and text message to those who have registered their interest in positions at this level on the publicjobs.ie website and TLAC have circulated it to Civil Service Departments as well as other Public Service Bodies.

TLAC will consider any applications received by PAS for the advertised position.

The same recruitment process will apply to all candidates for the position of Secretary General for the Department of Health.

On conclusion of its processes, TLAC may recommend up to three names, in alphabetical order, to the Government, in respect of those candidates considered to be of the standard required for the post.