asked the Minister for the Public Service the number of candidates for Civil Service posts disqualified this year because of representations made on behalf of Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Earlier this year I requested the Civil Service Commissioners to make a regulation strengthening their long-standing prohibition against canvassing by, or the use of influence on behalf of, candidates at Civil Service competitions. This regulation was duly made and I wrote to all public representatives to inform them about it. At the same time I appealed to members of the public not to put their representatives in the embarrassing situation of making requests which it would be improper for them to pass on. The Civil Service Commissioners have also given prominence to their new regulation in documents issued to intending applicants.

I am glad to be able to say that these steps have proved most effective and it has not been necessary to consider disqualification in any case.

Can the Minister give an assurance that nobody on whose behalf representations have been made has been refused? The vast majority of the population realise that we cannot make representations to the Civil Service Commission. Sometimes people seek information on placings and how many jobs have been filled. This is not an interference with decisions. If we were to give that power arbitrarily to some civil servant he could cut people off the list.

The new regulations have not been interpreted in that way. Because of the change, public representatives have not been put under so much pressure by constituents. There has been a change in the type of queries addressed to the commission as a result.