Civil Service Commission 1932-35

Century of Endeavour

Civil Service Commission 1932-35

(c) Roy Johnston 1999

The Commission was set up by the Department of Finance under Sean Lemass, the new Minister, and the letter of appointment was signed by JJ McElligott the Secretary. The Commission was chaired by Joe Brennan and included, as well as JJ, the following: Rev JE Canavan SJ, JR Coade, Luke J Duffy, T Condren Flinn, AM Fullerton, Rev Br JE Galvin, Lord Glenavy, Senators Tom Johnson, Sir John Keane and DL Robinson, Mary Kettle, Prof W Magennis, Dan O'Donohoe, JJ O'Leary and Nelly Ryan.

The terms of reference were '..to enquire into and report on the organisation of the Civil Service with special reference to the arrangements for ensuring efficiency in working; the general standard of remuneration of civil servants; the age of retirement from the service; and the methods by which arbitration can best be applied for the settlement of questions relating to pay and other conditions of service.'

There was an Introduction summarising how submissions were made, an outline of recent Civil Service history (as inherited from the British), a sketch of the current structure, an analysis of its organisation in detail, sections on recruitment, promotion, retirement etc. There is no separate section on 'recommendations'; these are mostly minor, and are scattered throughout the text of the main report.

Minority reports by Tom Johnson and Luke Duffy, both of the Labour Party, disagreed with the proposed ban on political work by civil servants. It seems that JJ went along with this ban, though he held out for a relaxation of the marriage bar for women, and was probably responsible for the recommendation that graduate recruitment to the higher posts be opened up.

On the whole however JJ does not seem to have put his stamp on this Commission, to the extent that he did on the Agriculture commissions in the 20s and 40s. It would however have been a learning experience for him, and his subsequent Seanad work was enriched by it. He would have been pleased to have been asked to serve the new Government, despite his trenchant criticism of their policies.

[To 'Century' Contents Page] [1930s Overview]

Some navigational notes:

A highlighted number brings up a footnote or a reference. A highlighted word hotlinks to another document (chapter, appendix, table of contents, whatever). In general, if you click on the 'Back' button it will bring to to the point of departure in the document from which you came.