asked the Minister for the Public Service if he will outline the categories of persons employed in the public service who by reason of the nature of the work they perform are debarred from participating in active politics or contesting local or parliamentary elections.

The arrangements governing the involvement of civil servants in political activity are as follows:

(1) Civil servants are not permitted to stand for election to either House of the Oireachtas, or to the European Parliament. This restriction applies to all categories of staff.

(2) Civil servants in the industrial categories and in manipulative, sub-clerical and manual grades are free to engage in political activity, subject to the general restriction in relation to parliamentary elections. Civil servants in this category may, therefore, contest local elections.

(3) Members of the clerical classes in the civil service, and civil servants in non-manipulative grades with salary maxima equal to or below the clerical officer maximum, may apply for permission to engage in politics on the same basis as the staff referred to at (2), but officers employed on particular types of work may have their applications refused.

(4) All civil servants above the clerical level are totally debarred from engaging in politics.

My direct responsibility in this matter does not extend to other areas of the public service but I can tell the Deputy that the only other categories of staff in the public service debarred from involvement in politics are members of the Garda Síochána and of the Permanent Defence Forces.

Did I understand the Minister to say that any member of a clerical grade from CO upwards is debarred from being active in politics and from standing for local elections?

All civil servants above the position of CO are debarred from engaging in politics.

Does this include membership of local authorities and health boards?

The only civil servants who can contest local elections are those who are in the industrial categories and in the manipulative, sub-clerical and manual grades.

If such people wish to stand for local elections what facilities are given to them? Are they out, full stop, or is it as in other countries where they get leave of absence during the course of elections pending their election or defeat when they can make a decision?

I must confess that the circumstances have not arisen during my tenure of office and I do not know whether they receive leave of absence or whether particular arrangements are made. It is a question to which I will have to address my mind during the coming year, I presume there are arrangements but I have not had any reason to go into it.

This will become a live issue for many people who grew up in the public service — it will not concern my party any more than others — and they would like to understand clearly what their entitlements are if they stand, if they win or if they lose, what will their future be if they get leave of absence or take their annual leave during the course of elections? I am sure there will be thousands of people who will let their decisions be influenced by what their circumstances would be. In other countries membership of local authorities is treated entirely differently from membership of national parliaments because local authorities just deal with local matters — it is not a matter of dealing with security or any major State decisions. Therefore, it would not need the same rigid attitude.

I doubt if the matter you are pursuing now is covered in the question. It probably is not.

It is an important matter and it arises out of the question. There must be guidelines.

I will consider the points the Deputy made but I think it would be unrealistic to think that members of local authorities, certainly in the Irish context, do not from time to time sometimes have rather trenchant views on activities at national level.

I do not see the difference. Supposing a civil servant is a member of an executive of a trade union, or supposing he was in the Revenue Commissioners, a very important Department, and if there were political activists in that Department, extremely vocal and powerful, who influence many people, surely that is more important to the State than a person standing to look after roads, public lighting, parks and so on in their local areas. I contend that a person who is a staunch union representative and who has access to records in that context would not be any less damaging to or feared by the State.