Sir, - Theresa Ahearn TD is reported (The Irish Times, February 22nd) as accusing the Minister for the Environment and Local Government of "blatant discrimination" on the grounds of sex in the appointment of driver-testers. This slur on the Minister's character and the independence of the Civil Service Commission cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.
As many of your readers will be aware, the vast bulk of recruitment to the Civil Service, including the post of driver-tester, is carried out by the Civil Service Commission. The Commission was established in 1923 as an independent, specialist body with the aim of guaranteeing, inter alia, fairness in recruitment by the State and to ensure that appointments would be above accusations of political interference. The State is an equal opportunities employer and all advertisements for employment, including those for the position of driver-tester, make this abundantly clear.
Deputy Ahearn's allegations in relation to the Minister are, therefore, utterly without foundation and unworthy, and should be retracted without reservation. - Yours, etc.,
Ronnie Devlin, Press and Information Officer, Department of the Environment and Local Government, Custom House, Dublin 1.