Suitably qualified candidates are not applying for senior positions in the Civil Service because of fears of being vilified in the media, the head of the group which makes recommendations on such appointments to Government has said.
Speaking today the chairwoman of the Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC) Maureen Lynott said the “bashing” and “public lambasting” of how senior civil servants did their jobs was dangerous, unfortunate and damaging.
She said invasion of privacy including had been cited by some capable civil servants as to why they did not apply for senior positions.
Ms Lynott, who is a management consultant and a former senior adviser to the head of the HSE Prof Brendan Drumm, said internal candidates for senior positions in the Civil Service were as competitive as those applying from the outside.
She said that about 30 per cent of appointments to senior positions in the Civil Service - assistant secretary grades and above - were now from the outside including the wider public sector.
She said the number of appointments to top-level posts in the Civil Service from the private sector was about 18 per cent.
