PART 5

Obligations Of Candidates in respect of Recruitment and Selection Procedures

53.— This Part applies to—

(a) the carrying out under this Act of any recruitment and selection of persons for positions within the public service, and

(b) the selection for promotion of civil servants or the staff of any other public service body.

54.— In respect of a competition for a position within the public service, a person shall not—

(a) knowingly or recklessly make an application that is false or misleading in a material respect for the position,

(b) in purported compliance with a requirement for the position, knowingly or recklessly provide any information or documentation that is false or misleading in a material respect,

(c) canvass any person, with or without inducements, on his or her own behalf or on behalf of a candidate for the position,

(d) personate a candidate at any stage of the recruitment and selection process concerned,

(e) knowingly or maliciously obstruct a person engaged in the conduct of the competition or otherwise interfere with the general conduct of that competition,

(f) knowingly and without lawful authority take any action that could result in the compromising of any test material or of any evaluation of it,

(g) interfere improperly with the competition process or competition records so as to confer an advantage or a disadvantage on any candidate.

55.— (1) In respect of paragraphs (a) to (g) of section 54 , a person who contravenes any of those paragraphs is guilty of an offence.

(2) A person who knowingly aids, abets, counsels or procures another person to commit any offence under subsection (1) or conspires with another person for the commission of any such offence is guilty of an offence.

(3) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or to both.

56.— (1) Where in respect of a competition a person has been found guilty of an offence under section 55 and was or is a candidate at the competition then—

(a) where he or she has not been appointed to a position as a result of that competition, he or she shall stand disqualified as a candidate,

(b) where he or she has been appointed to a position as a result of that competition, he or she shall forfeit that appointment.

(2) Notification of forfeiture under subsection (1)(b) shall be given in writing to the person concerned by the office holder concerned.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be read as restricting the imposition of any appropriate sanction including, as a consequence of the application of the procedures referred to in section 13 (1)(g), disqualification or forfeiture.