Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
387. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of Assistant Principal Officer applicants that are fluent in Irish currently on a panel arising from the most recent civil service recruitment campaign. [72170/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have been advised by publicjobs, the centralised recruiter for the Civil and Public Service and a body under the aegis of my Department, that they are currently administering a bespoke recruitment competition for Assistant Principal Officer positions requiring fluency in Irish for the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. These positions are based in Galway.
This competition closed for applications on the 13 November with 44 candidates applying. The recruitment process is ongoing and is expected to conclude in Q1 2026. The shortlisting process will commence shortly and, as a result, no applicants have yet been placed on a panel.
In addition, as part of the application stage for the Assistant Principal Officer (Standard) Nationwide competition, publicjobs included an Irish language stream. This allowed candidates to indicate their interest in being considered for vacancies requiring fluency in Irish that may arise during the lifetime of the competition.
Based on requests received from departments, candidates who expressed interest in such vacancies for Dublin and Galway were progressed through the standard Assistant Principal Officer selection process. Those successful at the final stage (Interview and Strategic Analysis exercise) were then required to complete full certification examinations at C1 proficiency level through Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG). Six candidates achieved this standard: five were placed on the Dublin panel (Irish stream) and one on the Galway panel (Irish stream).To date, four vacancies have been filled from the Dublin panel and one from the Galway panel.
Additional candidates who indicated interest in Irish language vacancies for other locations remain available; however, they have not yet undertaken the assessment stages outlined above, as no departmental requests for such vacancies have been received to date.
