asked the Minister for Health why non-nationals have been selected for the posts of senior social worker with the health boards.

Irish nationality is not a required qualification for appointment as senior social worker or for any appointment in the health services. An alien cannot be appointed unless he is granted a work permit by the Minister for Labour and such permits are only granted where no suitable Irish candidate is available to fill the post in question.

However, work permits are not required for nationals of the United Kingdom as an alien is defined under the Aliens Orders as not including a person born in Great Britain or in Northern Ireland. Similar preferential treatment applies to Irish nationals taking up employment in the United Kingdom.

In view of the fact that we have such a high rate of unemployment and so many of our own people qualified for positions of this kind, would the Minister not consider it rather strange to have a situation in which a great number of these people are employed?

There is a reciprocal arrangement and, as I said, a citizen of the United Kingdom is not regarded as an alien and he or she from either the Six Counties or Britian can apply for any of these posts.

Is the Minister satisfied that Britons or others are suitable for these posts, that they understand the way of life in Ireland, particularly rural Ireland, and are suitable people to be going in asking personal questions of people living in rural Ireland?

In the past the board have found it extremely difficult to get social workers and all the things the Deputy has mentioned—knowledge of the place and so on—are taken into consideration by the interview board. By and large, I do not think it would be right to bar people from Northern Ireland from such posts.

I did not mention people from Northern Ireland and I hope the Minister does not either.

Hear, hear.

Surely to goodness, it is ridiculous that we have in these boards a great many of these people when we have Irish people capable of doing the job just as well or even better.

I would say that, all things being equal and qualifications being similar, the post would be given to an Irish person, but we have the same facility in the United Kingdom.