Civil Service

Wednesday, 25 February 2026

Questions (103)

Roderic O'Gorman

Question:

103. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of applications that have been received for the general civil service administrative officer competition; the number of stages there are; the number of applicants that have passed through the stages to date; how long the competition will run for; approximately how many people will be hired through this competition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15571/26]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation

The most recent general Civil Service Administrative Officer (AO) competition, conducted by the Public Appointments Service (publicjobs), received a total of 4,130 applications.

This competition consists of two assessment stages:

- Stage 1 – Online Assessment/Testing, and

- Stage 2 – Interview and Presentation.

Progress through the competition to date is set out below:

- Applications received: 4,130

- Invited to Stage 1 Testing: 4,130

- Completed Stage 1 Testing: 2,987

- Successful at Stage 1: 2,588

- Invited to Stage 2 Interview: 60 candidates (including 28 scheduled for early March)

- Successful at Interview: 21 candidates (from 32 interviews completed to date)

Panels formed from this competition may remain in place for up to twelve months. It is currently expected that the panels established will remain valid until February 2027, subject to demand.

It is not possible at this stage to determine how many individuals will ultimately be appointed from this competition. Appointments will depend on workforce requirements across Departments and Offices throughout the lifetime of the panels.