Public sector recruitment ban ends

The Government has announced an end to the long-running moratorium on recruitment in the public sector with posts to be created in the civil service next year.

Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin said numbers in the sector had been reduced by 10% since 2008 and he said the time had come for the Government to provide opportunities for people to take up jobs in the public services. He also confirmed that he will launch a new plan for civil service renewal in the coming weeks.

A recruitment embargo began in the health service in 2007 and spread across the public sector. There have been derogations from the moratorium at various times in order to fill shortages in a number of professions.