HC Deb 17 July 1907 vol 178 cc698-9
MR. MEEHAN

I beg to, ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland what are the qualifications necessary for appointment as auditor under the Irish Local Government Board; are appointments made by nomination or as the result of competitive examination; what is the difference in the duties discharged by auditors of county accounts and auditors of district accounts; and how many of the sixteen auditors employed have passed a Civil Service examination.

MR. BIRRELL

Auditors are appointed by nomination, subject to their obtaining from the Civil Service Commissioners a certificate of proficiency in certain prescribed subjects, including a knowledge of accounts and of the Irish Poor Laws. The division of the staff into county and district auditors is a purely departmental arrangement in connection with the distribution of the work. The persons nominated undergo examination by the Civil Service Commissioners in all cases unless the Commissioners are otherwise satisfied that they possess the required knowledge. All of the present auditors obtained Civil Service Certificates, and fourteen of them after examination.

MR. KILBRIDE

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman is he prepared to lay upon the Table of the House, as a Parliamentary Paper, the subjects of examination to which an auditor is subjected?

MR. BIRRELL

I do not know about a Parliamentary Paper, but I shall be glad to give that information to the hon. Member, and will look into the matter.

MR. MEEHAN

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the gentlemen appointed as auditors have had no previous experience?

MR. BIRRELL

The knowledge of accounts is one of the subjects in which they are examined.