Civil Service Commissioners Act, 1956
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: —(1) This Act may be cited as the Civil Service Commissioners Act, 1956.
(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day as may be fixed therefor by order of the Government.
num: 2
paragraphs: —(1) In this Act, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say—
“the Act of 1924” means the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1924 (No. 5 of 1924);
“the appropriate authority” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3;
“the Civil Service” means the Civil Service of the Government and the Civil Service of the State;
“the Commissioners” means the Civil Service Commissioners appointed or deemed to have been appointed under section 9;
“competition” means a competition held under section 15;
“established position” means a position in which there is rendered established service;
“established service” means service in a capacity in respect of which a superannuation allowance may be granted under the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1954;
“excluded position” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (6) of section 5;
“the former Civil Service Commissioners” means the Civil Service Commissioners appointed under section 1 of the Act of 1924;
“may”, when used in relation to any power conferred on the Commissioners by this Act, shall be construed as permissive and not imperative;
“member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas” does not include an officer of the Houses of the Oireachtas;
“the Minister” means the Minister for Finance;
“officer of the Houses of the Oireachtas” means a person being—
(a) the Clerk or Clerk-Assistant of DÃ¡il Ãireann, or Seanad Ãireann, or
(b) the Librarian or Assistant Librarian, Houses of the Oireachtas, or
(c) the Superintendent, Houses of the Oireachtas, or
(d) the Captain of the Guard, Houses of the Oireachtas;
“order of merit” means the order in which candidates at a competition are to be placed for the purposes of selection by the Commissioners for appointment;
“position” means a position in the Civil Service, and includes the position held by a member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas;
“the Regulation Act” means the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956;
num: 3
paragraphs: —(1) In this Act, “the appropriate authority” means—
(a) in relation to the position of member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas—the Taoiseach,
(b) in relation to the position of an officer of the Attorney General—the Taoiseach,
(c) in relation to the position of member of the staff of the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General—the Minister,
(d) in relation to the position of member of the staff of the office of the Revenue Commissioners—the Minister, or
(e) in relation to any other position—the Minister of State by whom the power of appointment to that position is for the time being exercisable.
(2) Where a delegation, under the provision of the Regulation Act mentioned in column (2) of the Table to this subsection at any reference number, is made, then, so long as the delegation remains in force, the authority mentioned in column (3) of the said Table at that reference number shall, in lieu of the Minister of State mentioned in column (4) of the said Table at that reference number, be, for the purposes of section 5, the appropriate authority in relation to the position mentioned in column (5) of the said Table at that reference number.
Table to Section 3 (2)
Reference No.
Provision of Regulation Act under which delegation made.
Authority to whom delegation made.
Minister of State by whom delegation made.
Position in relation to which delegation made.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
1
Section 2 (2) (a)
Chairman of DÃ¡il Ãireann
The Taoiseach
Position of member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
2
Section 2 (2) (c)
Attorney General
The Taoiseach
Position of officer of the Attorney General.
3
Section 2 (2) (d)
Comptroller and Auditor General
The Minister
Position of member of the staff of the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
4
Section 2 (2) (e)
The Revenue Commissioners
The Minister
Position of member of the staff of the office of the Revenue Commissioners.
num: 4
paragraphs: —(1) Each of the occupations specified in the First Schedule to this Act shall, save where the service to be rendered by the person to be appointed is to be established service, be a scheduled occupation for the purposes of this Act, and in this Act the expression “scheduled occupation” shall be construed accordingly.
num: 5
paragraphs: —(1) (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, the Commissioners may by order declare that a specified unestablished position (not being a position which is in a scheduled occupation) shall be an excluded position for the purposes of this Act, and the Commissioners may provide therein that the order is to remain in force for such period only as the Commissioners determine and specify in the order.
(b) The Commissioners shall not make in relation to an unestablished position an order under paragraph (a) of this subsection except at the request of the appropriate authority and, if the appropriate authority is not the Minister, with the consent of the Minister.
(c) In this section—
“limited period order” means an order under paragraph (a) of this subsection which is expressed to remain in force for a specified period only;
“unlimited period order” means an order under the said paragraph (a) which is not so expressed.
(2) Where—
num: 6
paragraphs: —(1) This Act shall cease to apply to members of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas on the date on which the Regulation Act ceases, by virtue of subsection (1) of section 20 of that Act, to apply to members of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
(2) This Act—
(a) does not apply to the appointment of a person to a position being—
(i) a position, the appointment to which is made by the Government, or
(ii) the position held by an officer of the Houses of the Oireachtas,
num: 7
paragraphs: —The expenses incurred in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
num: 8
paragraphs: —(1) The enactments mentioned in column (2) of the Second Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent mentioned in column (3) of that Schedule.
(2) Without prejudice to sections 20 and 21 of the Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937)—
(a) nothing in the repeal effected by subsection (1) of this section shall affect any regulation made, certificate of qualification issued or thing done under any enactment repealed by the said subsection (1), but any such regulation made, certificate of qualification issued or thing done shall, if in force at the commencement of this Act, continue in force, and have effect as if made, issued or done under this Act;
(b) in any enactment (other than this Act)—
(i) references to the Act of 1924 or to the Civil Service Regulation Acts, 1924 and 1926, shall be construed as references to this Act, and
(ii) references to any provision of the Act of 1924 shall be construed as references to the corresponding provision of this Act;
(c) references in any enactment to the former Civil Service Commissioners shall be construed as references to the Commissioners.
num: 9
paragraphs: —(1) The Government shall from time to time as occasion requires appoint fit and proper persons to be Civil Service Commissioners to fulfil the functions assigned to them by this Act.
(2) The number of the Commissioners shall be three.
(3) (a) The Commissioners may act notwithstanding that there is one vacancy in their number or that any one Commissioner is temporarily absent.
(b) If the Commissioners so consent or, if in the event of a vacancy a Commissioner so consents, any one of the Commissioners may act for them in the event of the temporary absence of the other Commissioners or Commissioner.
(4) The first Commissioners shall be the persons who, immediately before the commencement of this Act, held office as the former Civil Service Commissioners, and those persons shall be deemed to have been appointed Commissioners under subsection (1) of this section.
num: 10
paragraphs: —(1) Each Commissioner shall hold office at the will and pleasure of the Government.
(2) A Commissioner may at any time resign his office by letter addressed to and sent to the Government,
(3) Each Commissioner shall receive such (if any) remuneration as the Minister may from time to time determine.
(4) Notice of every appointment of a person to be a Commissioner (other than an appointment deemed, by virtue of subsection (4) of section 9, to have been made under subsection (1) of that section) and of every resignation or removal from office of a Commissioner shall be published forthwith in the Iris OifigiÃºil.
num: 11
paragraphs: —(1) The Minister shall appoint to serve in positions on the staff of the Commissioners such and so many persons as he considers necessary.
(2) Every person who immediately before the commencement of this Act was an officer of the former Civil Service Commissioners shall, on the commencement of this Act, be deemed to have been appointed by the Minister to a position on the staff of the Commissioners.
num: 12
paragraphs: —(1) In this section, “instrument” means an order, regulation, rule or certificate of qualification.
(2) Every instrument made or issued by the Commissioners shall be signed by at least one Commissioner and by some member of the staff of the Commissioners authorised by them in that behalf.
(3) Every instrument which purports to be an instrument made or issued by the Commissioners and to be signed in accordance with subsection (2) of this section shall be received in evidence in all Courts and be deemed, until the contrary is proved, to have been duly made or issued by the Commissioners, and it shall not be necessary to prove any signature affixed thereto or the office or authority of the person whose signature such signature purports to be.
num: 13
paragraphs: —(1) No person shall be appointed to an established position unless the Commissioners, after holding a competition under section 15, have, under section 17, selected him for appointment to that position.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to—
(a) the appointment of a person to an established position on promotion or transfer from another established position, or
(b) the appointment of a person to an established position under section 11 of the Regulation Act.
(3) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to the appointment of a person to a particular established position where—
(a) the appropriate authority with, in case he is not the Minister, the consent of the Minister, recommends the appointment of that person to that established position, and
(b) the Government, having considered such recommendation, decide that such appointment would be in the public interest.
(4) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to the appointment of a person to a particular established position where—
(a) that person was appointed to an unestablished position as the result of a competition, the regulations for which made under subsection (3) of section 16 provide that a person appointed thereto may, in certain specified circumstances, be subsequently appointed to that established position, and
(b) the Commissioners are satisfied that the provisions of the said regulations, relating to his prospective appointment to the said established position and such conditions as they may determine have been complied with.
num: 14
paragraphs: —(1) No person shall be appointed to an unestablished position unless the Commissioners, after holding a competition under section 15, have, under section 17, selected him for appointment to that position.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to—
num: 15
paragraphs: —(1) The Commissioners shall, subject to the consent of the Minister, hold such competitions as they consider necessary for the selection of persons for appointments to which either subsection (1) of section 13 or subsection (1) of section 14 applies.
(2) Where—
(a) it is proposed to make an appointment or appointments to a position or positions and either paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 13 or paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 14 applies to the appointment or appointments, and
(b) the Minister decides that it is proper that the person or persons to be appointed should be selected by means of competition, and requests the Commissioners to hold such a competition,
then, the Commissioners shall hold the competition.
(3) Every competition shall consist of such one or more of the following types of test as the Commissioners direct—
(a) a written examination,
(b) an oral examination,
(c) an interview,
(d) a practical examination,
(e) any other test or tests considered by the Commissioners to be appropriate.
(4) Where a competition consists of more than one of the types of test specified in subsection (3) of this section not more than one of the tests need be competitive.
(5) The Commissioners may make admission to any test conditional on a candidate's reaching such a standard as the Commissioners consider requisite.
num: 16
paragraphs: —(1) Where it is proposed to hold a competition for appointment to one or more positions, the Commissioners shall make regulations which shall include provisions in relation to the following matters—
(a) the type or types of test of which the competition shall consist,
(b) where the competition is to be in whole or in part a written examination, the subject or subjects of the written examination,
(c) the mode of application for admission to the competition,
(d) the manner in which the order of merit of the candidates is to be determined.
(2) The Commissioners may, in making regulations under subsection (1) of this section in relation to a competition, provide, in addition to the matters specified in the said subsection (1), for all or any of the following matters—
(a) the confining of the competition to citizens of Ireland,
(b) the confining of the competition to a specified class of persons defined in such manner and by reference to such things (including service in the Civil Service, sex and physical characteristics) as the Commissioners think proper,
(c) the requirement that, where females are not excluded from the competition, a female candidate to be eligible for selection shall be unmarried or a widow,
(d) the age limits for candidates,
(e) the fee to be paid for admission to the competition,
(f) the expenditure (including fees for medical examination) to be met by candidates in satisfying the provisions of the regulations as to health,
(g) such other matters (including qualifications) as the Commissioners think proper.
(3) The Commissioners may, in making regulations under subsection (1) of this section in relation to a competition for an appointment to an unestablished position, provide that the person appointed thereto may, in certain specified circumstances, be subsequently appointed to a specified established position.
(4) The Commissioners may make general regulations relating to all competitions or to competitions for appointments to positions of a particular class, description or grade, and may, in relation to a particular competition, do any of the following things by regulations made under subsection (1) of this section—
(a) provide that all or any of the general regulations shall not apply,
(b) modify all or any of the general regulations.
(5) Regulations under subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4) of this section shall not be made without the consent of the Minister.
num: 17
paragraphs: —(1) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be accepted by the Commissioners as qualified for appointment to a position for which a competition is held if, but only if, the Commissioners are satisfied that—
(a) he possesses the requisite knowledge and ability to enter on the discharge of the duties of that position,
(b) he is within the age limits (if any) prescribed for that position by regulations made under section 16 and applicable to the competition,
(c) he is in good health and free from any physical defect or disease which would be likely to interfere with the proper discharge of his duties in that position and possesses the physical characteristics (if any) prescribed for the position by the said regulations,
(d) he is suitable on grounds of character, and
(e) he is suitable in all other relevant respects for appointment to that position.
(2) Where a competition has been held under section 15, the Commissioners shall select for appointment from the competition such number of candidates as they think proper, subject however as follows—
(a) selection shall be made in accordance with the order of merit as determined under the regulations made under section 16 and applicable to the competition,
(b) only candidates who have been accepted by the Commissioners as qualified for appointment and have complied with the said regulations shall be so selected, and
(c) the filling of the positions for which the candidates are required has been approved by the Minister.
(3) If any question arises under this section as to whether a particular candidate is or is not qualified for appointment to a particular position or as to the place of a particular candidate in the order of merit the question shall be decided by the Commissioners whose decision shall be final.
num: 18
paragraphs: —(1) If any question arises under this Act as to whether the proposed appointment of a person to a position on promotion or transfer from another position is or is not in the customary course of promotion or transfer, as the case may be, the question shall be decided by the Commissioners.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section the Commissioners may from time to time decide what classes of promotions or transfers are to be regarded as being in the customary course of promotion or transfer.
num: 19
paragraphs: —Where—
(a) it is proposed to appoint a person to a particular position, and
(b) section 20, 21, 22, 23 or 24 applies to the appointment,
that person shall be treated, for the purposes of that section, as having been accepted by the Commissioners as qualified for appointment to that position if, but only if, the Commissioners are satisfied that he fulfils such requirements in respect of such of the following matters, knowledge, ability, age, health, physical characteristics, character and other relevant matters as the Commissioners may determine.
num: 20
paragraphs: —(1) Where—
(a) it is proposed to appoint a person to an established position (in this section referred to as the new position) on promotion or transfer from another established position, and
(b) the proposed promotion or transfer is otherwise than in the customary course of promotion or transfer, as that course has been decided by the Commissioners,
he shall not be appointed to the new position unless and until he has been accepted by the Commissioners as qualified for appointment thereto.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to the promotion or transfer, not in the customary course of promotion or transfer, of a person from an established position to another position in an acting capacity.
num: 21
paragraphs: —Where it is proposed to appoint, under section 11 of the Regulation Act, a widow to an established position, she shall not be appointed to that position unless and until she has been accepted by the Commissioners as qualified for appointment thereto.
num: 22
paragraphs: —Where—
(a) it is proposed to appoint a person to an established position, and
(b) the proposed appointment is one to which, by virtue of subsection (4) of section 13, subsection (1) of section 13 does not apply,
he shall not be appointed to that position unless and until he has been accepted by the Commissioners as qualified for appointment thereto.
num: 23
paragraphs: —Where—
num: 24
paragraphs: —Where it is proposed to appoint, under section 11 of the Regulation Act, a widow to an unestablished position, she shall not be appointed to that position unless and until she has been accepted by the Commissioners as qualified for appointment thereto.
num: 25
paragraphs: —Where—
(a) it is proposed to appoint a person to a position, and
(b) the appointment is one to which section 20, 21, 22, 23 or 24 applies,
such person shall, unless the Commissioners, with the concurrence of the Minister, otherwise determine, bear any expenses (including fees for medical examination) which he may incur in connection with the fulfilment of the requirements of the Commissioners under section 19.
num: 26
paragraphs: —(1) Where a person (in this subsection referred to as the appointee), who is either (i) a person who has been selected for appointment to an established position under section 17 or (ii) a person to whose proposed appointment to an established position section 20, 21 or 22 applies, has been accepted by the Commissioners as qualified for appointment to the position (in this subsection referred to as the said position) for which he has been selected or to which it is proposed to appoint him (as the case may be)—
(a) the Commissioners shall as soon as may be thereafter, issue a certificate which shall state that the appointee has been accepted by them as qualified for appointment to the said position and the date of such acceptance,
(b) the certificate shall have effect as on and from that date.
(2) A certificate issued under subsection (1) of this section shall be called and known as a certificate of qualification.
(3) Where a certificate of qualification is required by subsection (1) of this section to be issued, the Commissioners may defer the issue thereof until the person in whose favour it is to be issued has taken up the duties of the position.
(4) The Commissioners may—
(a) cancel any certificate of qualification issued in error or as the result of fraud or deceit.
(b) correct errors in a certificate of qualification.
num: 27
paragraphs: —(1) Where—
(a) a person is appointed to an established position, and
(b) the appointment is one to which subsection (3) of section 13 applies,
he shall be deemed from the date of such appointment to possess a certificate of qualification in respect of that position, and the Minister of State by whom the appointment is made shall publish in the Iris OifigiÃºil a notice of the appointment which shall state that the appointee is a person to whose appointment subsection (3) of section 13 applies.
(2) Where—
(a) a person is appointed under section 7 or 15 of the Regulation Act to an established position, and
(b) he does not possess a certificate of qualification in respect of that position,
he shall be deemed as from the date of such appointment to possess a certificate of qualification in respect of that position.
(3) Where a person is appointed under subsection (1) of section 67 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, to be a commissioner for the special purposes of the Income Tax Acts, such appointment shall be to an unestablished position, unless the Minister directs that such appointment shall be to an established position, in which case that person shall be deemed, as from the date of his appointment in pursuance of such direction, to possess a certificate of qualification in respect of his position as such commissioner.
num: 28
paragraphs: —Where—
(a) a person serving in an established position is promoted in an acting capacity to another position, and
(b) the promotion is otherwise than in the customary course of promotion, as that course has been determined by the Commissioners, and
(c) he is, while serving in such acting capacity, appointed substantively to that other position and a certificate of qualification has been issued by the Commissioners in respect of that other position,
section 12 of the Superannuation Act, 1834, shall apply to him as if he had been appointed substantively to that other position from the date of his promotion in an acting capacity.
num: 29
paragraphs: —(1) The Commissioners shall hold—
(a) all competitions, examinations, interviews and tests which are for the time being required by law to be held by the Commissioners,
(b) such other competitions, examinations, interviews and tests as the Government or the Minister may from time to time direct.
(2) The Commissioners, with the consent of the Minister, may make regulations in relation to any competition, examination, interview or test held by them under this section, and may by such regulations fix the fee to be paid for admission to any such competition, examination, interview or test.
num: 30
paragraphs: —(1) The Commissioners may make rules governing the conduct of candidates at competitions, examinations, interviews or tests held by them under this Act and providing for other matters in relation to the holding of such competitions, examinations, interviews or tests.
(2) The Commissioners may, in rules made under this section, provide for the disqualification or penalisation, at the discretion of the Commissioners, of candidates who fail to observe the rules under this section governing the conduct of candidates.
num: 31
paragraphs: —If any person personates a candidate at a competition, examination, interview or test held by the Commissioners under this Act, or at any medical examination held under this Act, that person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and imprisonment.
num: 32
paragraphs: —(1) Orders, regulations and rules made by the Commissioners under this Act shall, for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Acts, 1947 and 1955, be deemed not to be statutory instruments to which those Acts primarily apply.
(2) Whenever the Commissioners make regulations under this Act—
(a) notice of the making thereof shall be published in the Iris OifigiÃºil, and
(b) the notice shall state when and where copies of the regulations may be obtained.
num: 33
paragraphs: —(1) The following provisions shall apply to fees payable by candidates under this Act—
(a) the fees shall be collected and taken in such manner as the Minister may from time to time direct, and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister,
(b) the Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of the fees.
(2) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section does not apply to fees in respect of medical examinations which are payable by candidates direct to doctors carrying out those examinations.