Civil service will be 'second division'
Concerns are being expressed today over the future quality of Ireland's top civil servants.
The Chairman of the Higher Public Servants Remuneration Committee Tony O' Brien believes the uptake of of public service jobs from private sector candidates won't be there because the salary differential is "too great".
Last week the Communications Minister Eamon Ryan announced the Government was to open up top public service jobs to private sector applicants.
But in a report today, Mr O' Brien warned the Government that it would be "disappointed".
He said pay differentials are still enormous and pay rates at the top of the private sector were way ahead of those in the public sector.
He said that it was the culture of 30 years ago that the cream of the country went for public sector jobs, but has warned it is the private sector that will attract the cream now.
Mr O'Brien has expressed concern for the future saying he believed the civil service will be "second division" and this will be a challenge for the Government.
