Only 3,200 graduates apply for €30,000 state jobs
The first civil-service recruitment campaign in over three years has attracted just 3,200 applications from graduates, it emerged yesterday.
The permanent and pensionable jobs will be at adminsitrative-officer grade, and come with a salary of €29,922 and four weeks holiday per year.
They are being advertised to plug gaps left by some of the 1,021 civil-service staff who are taking early retirement this month.
Graduates with qualifications in human resources, law, accountancy, economics, finance/banking and tax policy were invited to apply.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said it is yet unclear how many jobs will have to be filled, but vacancies are expected across several government departments.
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A spokeswoman said the closing date for applications was last Friday and 3,200 applied.
The last recruitment campaign for administrative officers was in October 2008 and was aimed at general graduates.
At a time of much lower unemployment rates, it attracted over 2,000 applicants.
The starting salary of €29,922 for the administrative officer grade in the civil service has dropped from €34,275 in 2008.
It is on par with what a nurse or teacher on the lowest scale would get.
Eoin Ronayne of the Civil Public and Services Union said yesterday the response to the recruitment campaign was relatively low.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr James Reilly said yesterday the most recent information available from the HSE indicates that over the period from September 2011 to the end of February 2012, some 3,800 health service staff will have retired from the health service.
- Eilish O'Regan
Irish Independent
