asked the Minister for the Public Service if any of the 1,000 temporary civil servants will be employed on a permanent basis.

As was announced in the Government White Paper "Serving the Country Better" in September 1985 a number of trainees will be given the opportunity of competing for permanent clerical assistant positions in the Civil Service. The competition will be held this month. It is expected that 100 appointments to clerical assistant posts will be made from the competition.

I believe that the experience gained by the trainees should greatly enhance their employment prospects when their one-year contracts expire.