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The Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA) has reviewed the requirements for the posts of Advisory Counsel Grade III posts in the Attorney General's Office and recommended that qualified solicitors as well as barristers should be permitted to apply for these positions.

CPSA chairman, An Ceann Comhairle Mr. Sean Barrett T.D. said "the Commission is concerned that public positions are open to the broadest possible pool of candidates with the relevant attributes, skills and experience. While the Commission accepts the benefits to the AG's Office of having available to it candidates experienced in the preparation for, and execution of, legal argument in the Courts, we are satisfied that the public interest is best served by opening Advisory Counsel Grade III posts to solicitors and barristers alike and allowing those involved in appointing candidates to select the best candidates through a transparent, merit based, competitive process."

The Law Society had complained to the CPSA that the decision to confine these Advisory Counsel Grade III positions to barristers was unfair, restrictive and contrary to the public interest. The Law Society alleged that this decision was inconsistent with best recruitment practice and amounted to unacceptable bias. Furthermore the Law Society argued that requiring a candidate to have significant experience as a practising barrister in the State does not reflect what is actually necessary to perform the duties of the Advisory Counsel Grade III, particularly as it is their contention that solicitors undertake such functions satisfactorily on a daily basis. The Law Society believes that the eligibility criteria, in this instance, breach the CPSA's own Code of Practice.

The CPSA considered the duties and responsibilities of the Advisory Counsel Grade III in the provision of legal advice to the Attorney General and in particular the need to provide expert advice with regard to the likely outcome of litigation involving the State.  The CPSA learned that this extends to how litigation might best be conducted to the State's advantage. In arriving at its findings, the CPSA set out that it understood that it is of great importance to the AG's Office that Advisory Counsel Grade III have experience of presenting legal arguments to the Courts, of assessing and advising on evidential issues relating to Court proceedings and the empirical knowledge of the multiplicity of factors that affect the outcome of litigation. 

The CPSA acknowledged that barristers undertake training and gain experience required to provide the independent specialist expert advice across the range of activities relevant to the AG's Office and that confining the competition to barristers allows that Office to focus on a pool of suitable applicants.

However the CPSA noted that some solicitors also perform similar functions. The CPSA also learned that barristers and solicitors are seen as interchangeable within the British Government Legal Service and positions similar to Advisory Counsel Grade III within that Service are open to solicitors as well as barristers.

In considering the Law Society's complaint, the CPSA recognises that eligibility criteria for positions must not be unduly restrictive. The criteria for the role must reflect the qualifications, training, skills and experience necessary to perform the duties of the position. The CPSA concluded that the public interest is best served by recruiting from the widest pool of relevant and available talent and experience.