Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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322. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality in respect of the two upcoming internal promotions in her Department whether the application forms have been vetted, and whether any applications that exceeded the page limit or expanded the boxes on the form have been disqualified from the application process, in accordance with the competition criteria; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8981/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Human Resources Division of my Department that the respective internal circulars governing the two competitions contain the following references:

- Candidates should only use the space provided and only material contained in the allocated space shall be eligible for consideration; and

- Section A - Statement of Suitability (of not more than one page in length in the space provided).

It is not the case, therefore, that the competitions in question oblige the disqualification of candidates whose forms exceed the limit or have expanded boxes, only that information, not contained in the allocated space, will not be considered. However, a certain degree of common sense does prevail in the consideration of each application.

As I have already informed the Deputy, in response to PQ No 339 of 22 February 2015, my Department is satisfied that the competitions in question are being operated in strict accordance with the guidelines set out by the Commission for Public Service Appointments. If, however, the Deputy is aware of specific concerns being raised by an applicant it is suggested that these be brought to the attention of the Department's Personnel Officer.

It is also open to any candidate who has any concerns to make a complaint to the Commission.