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THE GOVERNMENT HAS defended the €85,000 spent during the process of hiring an internal candidate to replace Kevin Cardiff as the secretary general of the Department of Finance.
John Moran was promoted from his position as Second Secretary in the department and head of the banking division last week following the departure of Cardiff who took up his role at the European Court of Auditors earlier this month following much controversy.
TV3 News revealed this evening that the government will eventually spend €85,000 on the process of looking for Cardiff’s successor. This includes €10,000 spent on advertising and around €75,000 on two different executive search firms.
These firms have been named as AMROP, one of the world’s largest executive search companies and subsequently MERC, an Irish company which describes it self as a “market leader in the field of executive search”.
The Department of Finance said in a statement said that the “Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC), in association with the Public Appointments Service (PAS), sought to identify the best possible field” for the position.
The Department had begun advertising for the secretary general’s job on the PAS website in November before Cardiff had even secured his new position at the European Court of Auditors which was fraught with problems after he was initially rejected by an EU committee.
The advertisement stated that the successful candidate would need to give “effective management and leadership of the Department of Finance” and asked for “excellent co-ordination” with key agencies such as the Central Bank and the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).
The Department of Finance statement this evening continued: “In addition to media advertising, the use of executive search is generally accepted best practice as a key measure to achieve this [the appointment].”
The statement added: “The process generated a strong field of highly capable candidates from both inside and outside the public service. Having evaluated the candidates, TLAC recommended a shortlist to Government from which the appointment was made.”
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Either: (A) They had pre-decided on Moran and had to go through the motions, or (B) They looked for someone better to do the job, but couldn’t find anyone and had to settle for him?
Know which one my money’s on.
(C) there was a very good reason to spend money with these firms – nudge, wink etc.
And is it also “best practice” to canvas for a candidate to obtain a very senior position in Europe as happened with Kevin Cardiff. Double standards or what?
After spending all that money, they appointed one of their own from inside the ranks. Is anybody really shocked by that? Who could have predicted the civil service would conduct an expensive charade to cover giving the gig to an insider?
They didn’t appoint one of their own. Check out his CV,it’s the complete antithesis of the average civil servant.
The fact that he works in there proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he isnt qualified for the job.
Sadly this type of ineptitude is no longer a surprise, even when we are taxing and cutting our way through families, the delusion and blatant disregard for spending cash stupidly remains in the civil service! Can you imagine this happening in the private sector? Until people in the public service are held to account and graded and can actually lose their job for being morons, this will continue to happen!
Should have used FAS. it’s free and paid for by the government or are the saying that their own employment agency is just crap at what they do.
€75,000 spent on two different consulting firms… was one meaningless exercise not enough?
In my 20 years as a manager in the private sector I have only ever paid an agency fee if the agency provided a candidate that was hired ( and was still in the job after the probationary period ).
What exactly was the 75K paid for?
The article beings with “The government has defended…” but then only quotes the Department as having stood over the spend…..
Personally I’m disgusted. No way we need to be spending that much on top level appointments!!!
It’s in the genes perhaps if they spent more time looking and sorting out a 565 million sick pay bill there time would be better served
David Higgins the article also states that this man was promoted from 2nd in command prior ti this promotion 1 Question for him then and those who promoted him is ” what the hell was he doing that he did not stop the ROT we are in now ?”
Answer is A Great Big NOTHING and he is promoted
Given the history of the administration of this state since its inception we can come to some reasonable conclusions regarding middle and upper management in the civil service
1. It is populated by the kind of people who need an instruction manual to use toilet paper.
2. Promotion is based on the toilet bowl theory of HR, sh1t floats and the more sh1t you are the higher you float.
3. Accountability is a small town in east Texas.
4. Tribunal reports and internal investigations are like the aforementioned toilet paper, only good for wiping your ar$e with (assuming you read the manual).
That is the best description of the Irish Civil Service I have ever read and also the closest to the truth.
Excellent description of the ‘top’ of what passes for the civil service. Most of the muppets appear to be way out of their depth when it comes to making and implementing vital decisions. Why couldn’t they have just advertised the vacancy in suitable publications, picked a handful of suitable candidates and interviewed them themselves? Why pay vast sums to agencies. The fact that they then hired the no.2 to Cardiff says it all. These idiots have no regard for tax payers money and lets face it, given the performance of these muppets throughout the last decade even a monkey from Dublin zoo would have put in a better shift than they did. No wonder the country is broke!
The consultants are cronies of theirs.Its a legal way to launder money.
I really do wonder sometimes. I think the civil servants are often seen as the scapegoats becuase of stories like this. I mean what kind of idiots are running a recruitment process where they spend €85k to appoint the second in command? If it cost businesses that much to replace their top executives who emigrate then they would all be long out of business but no. They keeo costs to a minimum because of the tough times at hand and then to see the government still splashing money around makes my blood boil! Sorry for the rant!
Who signed the order for 2 consultants? Because whoever did sign off on this should be fired for incompetence. Of course they would hire 2 more consultants to replace him or her. Talk about wasting money – they wouldn’t hire 2 garages to fix their car. This is the height of stupidity when a recruiter would offer up to 5 or 6 capable candidates for this position and there are not too many qualified to meet their needs. Brown envelopes is the only answer.
Yes the sums involved are astronomical, but the outcry if he had been promoted without due process/external applications and benchmarking would have been much louder…& rightfully so. No win situation!
They didn’t have due process/external applications and benchmarking. They spent 85k to present the illusion of transparency. In other words, they followed the same process as usual and then charged us for the privilege.
It isn’t to present the illusion of transparency but the illusion on external benchmarking to qualify the successor independently, thus formally covering their arises against charges of cronyism. We will never know who else was touted for this job, so there is no transparenct!
This approach doesn’t convince anyone, but boxes get ticked and consultants make money. Nothing has changed in the hallowed halls of the dept of finance & nothing will.
Absolutely correct,Caroline,but most people commenting on here can’t allow the facts to get in the way of their self-righteousness.
One,two,three or ten consultants.
What in the name of god did they do for €85,000.
I would love to see the invoice.
Somebody needs to justify this.
Property tax my arse..
For what ?
To waste it like this every bloody day of the Year.
Not my hard earned money.
When is this going to stop !
I think it is important not to automatically slam all public spending without looking behind the story.
I’m sorry Ultan. A blindman in a snowstorm can see this was a complete waste of money.
is there no end to the corruption ,this goverment is every bit as bad as the last one,
Dermot
I think they are worse because they simply hide behind the sins of their predecessors..
Lets hope he doesnt use all his Uncertified ‘leave’
Yes the sums invokve
“These firms have been named as AMROP, one of the world’s largest executive search companies and subsequently MERC, an Irish company which describes it self as a “market leader in the field of executive search”.
AMROP probably couldn’t find somebody suitable from Limerick.
This whole thing stinks the more I think about it – why for example did the DAA use a recruiter to source a new CEO who did not hold a license? Friends of friends and Brown Envelopes. Big ones.
yet another reason to nuke the hell out of Dublin
Baloney
It amazes me how these public officials can sanction these expenses and sign off on these payments whilst at the same time writing position papers on how to reduce costs/ new methods of raising revenue
it must be really nice for companies that are on the speed dial of such officials
Somebody should ask the DOF official how much they are paying for a ream of paper these days
Oh sorry.
I thought €85k was the salary.
Silly me.
Where has my last comment gone to?
Where is my last comment gone to now?
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