PART 4

Recruitment Licences and Office Holders

43.— (1) (a) The Commission shall grant a recruitment licence to the Chief Executive of the Service with effect from the establishment day.

(b) Where an application under section 44 has been duly made by a person to hold a recruitment licence then, subject to this section, the Commission may grant a licence to the applicant in respect of some or all of the classes of employees or positions to which the application relates.

(2) The Commission shall only grant a recruitment licence to an applicant if it is satisfied that—

(a) the applicant is an office holder (including a person to whom section 45 (1) relates) for the purposes of section 44 , and

(b) in the context of the public service body concerned, that the applicant can and will observe the appropriate standards and codes of practice.

(3) (a) A recruitment licence granted by the Commission shall—

(i) be capable of identifying the class or classes of employees or the position or positions to which it relates,

(ii) include the terms and conditions set out in paragraph (b), and

(iii) include such other terms and conditions, including any restrictions, as they consider appropriate in the circumstances.

(b) The terms and conditions to be included in a recruitment licence are that the office holder to whom the licence is granted (including any person who, for the time being, is exercising the functions of that office) shall—

(i) in so far as they relate to the licence granted, comply fully with the principles and codes of practice published by the Commission,

(ii) supply any information required from time to time by the Commission and any other body or bodies specified by it,

(iii) co-operate with and comply with any direction which may be duly issued from time to time by the Commission, and

(iv) inform the Commission and any other body or bodies specified by it of the details of proposed recruitment in such manner as the Commission may prescribe.

(4) A licence holder is responsible to the Commission for ensuring that the terms and conditions of the licence and the relevant codes of practice are fully complied with.

(5) The Commission shall, from time to time as it considers appropriate, examine and evaluate, or cause to be examined and evaluated, every licence holder for the purpose of finding out whether or not each of them has complied with the conditions of this section.

44.— (1) Subject to subsection (3), each of the following office holders may apply to the Commission to hold a licence (in this Act referred to as a “recruitment licence”) for the purposes of this Act:

(a) the Secretary General of a Department of State or, where more than one person holds the rank of Secretary General in a Department of State, the Secretary General who is the principal officer of the Department;

(b) the chief executive officer of a health board;

(c) the manager of a county council or city council for the purposes of the Local Government Act 2001 ;

(d) the chief executive officer of a vocational education committee established under the Vocational Education Acts 1930 to 2001;

(e) the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána;

(f) in the case of any other public service body, including any part of the Civil Service to which paragraph (a) does not relate, the person who is the chief executive officer, by whatever name known, of the body concerned.

(2) A recruitment licence may be applied for either generally or in respect of one or more classes of employees or positions.

(3) An application under this section shall not be made in respect of an office declared by a subsisting order under section 2 of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act 1926 to be an office to which that Act applies.

45.— (1) In this Part a reference to an application for a recruitment licence by an office holder includes an application for a recruitment licence by a person who, for the time being, is duly entitled to exercise the functions of the office concerned.

(2) A licence granted to an office holder shall be deemed to be granted to the person who, for the time being, is duly entitled to exercise the functions of the office holder.

(3) A person to whom a licence is deemed to be granted by virtue of subsection (2) shall, as soon as practicable, advise the Commission in writing of that fact and whether or not he or she is in a temporary or acting capacity. A failure to comply with this subsection does not invalidate any act done by the person concerned for the purposes of this Act.

46.— (1) An office holder to whom a licence has been granted may delegate the task of recruitment, or any part of it, which is to be carried out under the licence, to the Public Appointments Service and may so delegate generally or in respect of a particular class or category of post or a particular competition for a post.

(2) Where a delegation in accordance with subsection (1) has been made to carry out selection, the Chief Executive of the Service shall be responsible and not the licence holder concerned for adhering to the terms of the licence, to the extent of the delegation, as if he or she were the office holder concerned in the normal manner.

47.— (1) Recruitment in respect of posts to which this Act applies may only be undertaken—

(a) by the Public Appointments Service or other licence holder concerned,

(b) with the duly given authority of the office holder concerned, and

(c) within the terms and conditions of the recruitment licence concerned.

(2) The Service or other licence holder concerned, as the case may be, shall hold all competitions, examinations, interviews and tests which are for the time being duly required by law to be held by the Service or licence holder concerned.

48.— (1) Where the Commission is of the opinion that an aspect of the recruitment process has been or is likely to be compromised, then the Commission may—

(a) issue instructions to the licence holder concerned, and

(b) issue a copy of those instructions to any other person it considers appropriate to issue a copy to.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall be read as permitting an instruction to be issued which has the result of affecting any particular appointment or purported appointment or the recruitment process relating to that appointment or purported appointment.

(3) In issuing instructions to a licence holder under this section, the Commission shall at all times endeavour to ensure that it does not do so in a manner which materially inhibits the carrying out of functions by that licence holder.

49.— (1) Where the Commission considers it appropriate in any circumstance, it may, from time to time, issue advices to licence holders in respect of the exercise of functions by office holders under this Act. Advices under this section may be issued to one or more licence holders.

(2) Where the Commission issues an advice to a licence holder, the holder shall have regard to it.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) or to section 13 (1)(b), the Commission may—

(a) issue advices for the purpose of ensuring that the number of licence holders entering the market place for recruitment of persons to the public service at any time, or in close proximity to each other, do not have the effect of negatively distorting the market for such recruitment, and

(b) issue advices to licence holders in circumstances where it believes there is a danger that a disorderly market may emerge.

50.— Where a licence holder—

(a) proposes to hold a recruitment competition in respect of a particular grade or grades, and

(b) is of the opinion that—

(i) at or around the same time one or more other licence holders proposes to recruit to one or more of those grades as well, and

(ii) the effect of all such recruitment for one or more of those grades would be to negatively distort the market for such recruitment,

then, the licence holder shall advise the Commission accordingly.

51.— (1) The Commission may amend a recruitment licence—

(a) at the request of the licence holder,

(b) in accordance with any terms and conditions of the licence,

(c) following an investigation on behalf of the Commission under section 15 in respect of the licence holder concerned,

(d) in respect of the subject matter of any report by the Commission to the Government under section 16 or to the Minister under section 17 ,

(e) where, otherwise than provided for by paragraphs (a) to (d), it is of the opinion that there are serious and urgent reasons necessitating the amendment of the licence.

(2) Where a recruitment process has been commenced by virtue of a recruitment licence and is being undertaken by the office holder or a listed recruitment agency on behalf of the holder, then the Commission may, in relation to the amendment of the licence concerned, make any transitional arrangements that it considers appropriate in the circumstances, including providing that the amended licence shall have effect on different dates in respect of different classes or categories of recruitment.

52.— (1) Where the Commission forms the opinion that—

(a) a licence holder has failed or is failing to meet the terms and conditions of the recruitment licence concerned granted by them,

(b) since the grant of the recruitment licence, the circumstances relevant to the grant have changed and are such that, if an application for a recruitment licence were made in the changed circumstances, it would be refused,

(c) the licence be revoked following—

(i) an investigation on behalf of the Commission under section 15 in respect of the licence holder concerned, or

(ii) any report by the Commission to the Government under section 16 ,

or

(d) otherwise than provided for by paragraphs (a) to (c), there are serious and urgent reasons necessitating the revocation of the licence,

then, the Commission may revoke the recruitment licence.

(2) (a) A recruitment licence remains in force—

(i) until the operative date in a request to the Commission from the officer holder concerned for it to revoke the recruitment licence or the date of receipt of such a request, whichever is the later, or

(ii) where the Commission decides to revoke a licence in circumstances to which paragraph (b) relates, until the operative date of the revocation.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), where a recruitment process has been commenced by virtue of a recruitment licence and is being undertaken by the office holder or a listed recruitment agency on behalf of the holder, then the Commission may, in relation to the revocation of a licence, make any transitional arrangements that it considers appropriate in the circumstances, including providing that the licence shall be revoked on different dates in respect of different classes or categories of recruitment.