"A huge lack of confidence" exists among higher civil servants in the body that selects the most senior officials, the general secretary of the Association of Higher Civil Servants, Mr Sean O'Riordain, told the committee.
The level of dissatisfaction with the Top Level Appointments Commission (TLAC) was now a serious issue, he said. "People do not feel they are being assessed in a way that leads them at the end of the day to feel satisfied."
He said the chairmanship of the committee should change every few years, and the membership should also change regularly so that it is "not just a bunch of senior civil servants replicating themselves". Outsiders should be put on it, assessments should be open and fewer posts should be advertised to everyone within the Civil Service.
Asked about claims that the public service is overstaffed, he said the level of staff had been decided by various Ministers, not civil servants. "The vast majority of civil servants are doing a reasonable job as well as they can. There was also a need for greater co ordination between Government departments.
Mr O Riordain said there should be a strategic plan formulated within each department, and a boardtype structure at the top for decision making. This would involve the Minister and senior civil servants sitting down together more frequently to discuss implementation of policy.