Labour has condemned moves by the Government to remove the prohibition on special advisers to ministers from taking permanent posts in the Civil Service whenever a Government leaves office.
The party's finance spokeswoman, Ms Joan Burton, said an amendment to a Bill to be discussed in the Dáil next Wednesday repealed a section of the Ethics in Public Office Act that prevents the transfer of such advisers into established positions in the permanent Civil Service. This meant that advisers could circumvent the rules on open, competitive recruitment into the public service, Ms Burton said.
She said such a development would be disturbing, and added that the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, offered no explanation for the change in the explanatory memorandum accompanying the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointment) Bill 2003.
Saying she would propose amendments to retain the measure, Ms Burton added that public confidence must be maintained in the honesty and fairness of the public service recruitment system.
The Bill aims to reform the system of public appointments by allowing secretaries general of Departments to recruit staff directly. It will also dismantle the Civil Service Commission and the Local Appointments Commission and replace them with two new bodies.
