Fennelly Fallout: Department of Justice still trying to shake the legacy of its past crises

The crisis-hit Department of Justice is facing a second year with no permanent senior civil servant at its helm as candidates run scared of taking over the job.

A fresh recruitment campaign will have to be undertaken in another attempt to fill the position of secretary general which was first advertised without success last autumn.

The €176,000-a-year vacancy came about after then secretary general Brian Purcell requested a move out of the department in July last year, following publication of the Toland Report which severely criticised the running of the department.