Government to vet job moves by civil servants

THE Government is to crack down on civil servants with lucrative insider knowledge who are moving directly to highly paid posts in the private sector.

Officials are considering establishing a cooling-off period before civil servants can move into the private sector as well as an independent board which would vet all sensitive appointments.

The new code of conduct to be enforced by the State’s ethics watchdog will be aimed at stamping out the potential for abuse of inside information. The development follows concern over the numbers of top ranking civil servants who are retiring early and moving into consultancy work.