CONFIDENTIAL
Implications for Northern Ireland
differences
23. If either Option A or B (para 20) is adopted, between the Home Civil Service and Northern Ireland remain as outlined in paragraphs 5-12 above. From a practical point of view adopting either option in Northern Ireland would have similar effects on the NICS, eg in 3 areas
(1) The work of the Northern Ireland Civil Service
·Commission
a. Any changes which generated a larger applicant
field would stretch the Commission's resources; and
b. the Commission can meet its responsibilities within the current rules, given the surfeit of candidates, many of them qualified far beyond the basic requirements. The problem is often to find legitimate ways of shortlisting the field down to a manageable size for interview in light of equal opportunities and fair employment legislation.
(2) Security
to
in
All candidates to be offered posts are subject to security vetting. If
nationals of EC Member States are admitted all NICS posts, there may be procedural difficulties obtaining appropriate clearances in reasonable timescales: the problem would be increased for world-wide admission.
(3) The wider labour market
Since the Civil Service is one of the larger employers Northern Ireland, a move to open all posts to non-nationals could be difficult to justify given the current and forecast unemployment rates in the Province.
in
24. From a political viewpoint there is also a number of considerations which are germane to either option. Of the above practical points the effect on the local labour market could be taken up by any of the political interests either as point OI more specifically directed towards the effect on job opportunities and prospects in the public sector.
general
25. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border with another EC Member State and the proposed change in policy may impact disproportionately on the size of the candidate pool for the NICS. It is also a fact that there are sensitivities attaching to the likelihood that a large proportion of the "new" applicants would come from the Republic of Ireland. Such a change in policy might therefore be expected to provoke a hostile reaction from the Unionist community, while the Nationalist lobby might be therefore Ireland policy.
expected to adopt the opposite position. It would be difficult to present either option in Northern without very cogent reasons to justify such a change in. The sensitivities outlined in this paragraph call for a
6
CONFIDENTIAL
i