§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what guidelines are operated by his Department as regards the use of executive search agencies to fill vacancies within his Department and his Department's executive agencies; and in what circumstances his Department employs executive search agencies instead of relying fully on departmental resources to fill vacant posts.
§ Mr. JackAll recruitment in my Department and its executive agencies is undertaken in accordance with the Minister's rules applying to departmental recruitment as set out in the civil service order in council of 1991. Executive search agencies are only used for more senior appointments where it is difficult to attract a good field through advertising alone. I can confirm that an executive search agency has been used on only one occasion in 1994.