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From Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA)
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From Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA)
Published on
Last updated on
As the Commission for Public Service Appointments, we are the principal regulator of recruitment and selection in the Irish public service. Our role is to ensure that appointments to the civil and public service are fair, transparent and merit-based. Find out more about what we do.
The Commission was set up on 19 October 2004 under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004. Its members are:
On 18 December 2024, Verona was elected the first ever female Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann.
At the young age of 16, Verona emigrated to the UK, where she worked in McDonalds and Vauxhall Motor Company. Verona returned home aged eighteen and attained a CPC in International and National Transport Management. At the age of 21, she started a business as an international road transport operator.
At the age of 35, Verona returned to education completing her leaving certificate, then progressing on to studying Law. While working part-time as a clerk in a solicitor’s firm and after four years of night college, she was awarded a first-class honours degree in Law having completed her BA at the Wexford Campus of I.T. Carlow in 2010.
In 2010, Verona joined the licensed road haulage members representative body, the Irish Road Hauliers Association [IRHA] and served three terms as President of the national association. Verona was recognised as the leading woman in the transport sector and in 2018 was appointed a diversity ambassador for women in transport by the then EU Transport Commissioner. Her advocacy in this area made the IRHA a household name as the leading authority on Brexit preparations to safeguard Irelands commercial trade with the EU and the UK, post Brexit.
Verona, during this period, travelled regularly to Brussels attending meetings of the International Road Haulage Association and was instrumental in the approval of a Border Control post at Rosslare Europort. These facilities directly facilitated exponential growth post Brexit with a sixfold increase in European services leading to Rosslare Europort being named European Ferry Port of the Year in 2023.
As an Independent TD, Verona has worked endlessly to bring further renewed confidence in Rosslare Europort as one of Ireland’s more strategic assets and is constantly working with all stakeholders to secure the future of the port as Ireland’s gateway to Europe and Ireland’s Southeast hub for Offshore Renewable energy.
A passionate advocate for the future prosperity of Wexford, Verona was first elected as an Independent TD for County Wexford in February 2020. The economic and social growth of her constituency was Verona’s prime goal and she worked tirelessly in representing the concerns of Wexford people regarding housing, health, childcare, education, jobs, the environment and other matters of concern to her constituents.
With an incredibly strong work ethic encompassing capability, commitment, consistency and sincerity, Verona in November 2024, in her second election campaign, topped the poll in her constituency and was re-elected on the first count.
Ger Deering was appointed Ombudsman and Information Commissioner for Ireland by President Michael D. Higgins in January 2022.
He was appointed Financial Services Ombudsman in 2015 and Pensions Ombudsman in 2016. He became the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman when both offices were merged in 2018.
Ger was the first Commissioner for Taxi Regulation, and he was the founding Director of the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA). He played a key role in leading the Workplace Relations Reform Programme.
Ger has extensive experience working across local government, community development, the civil service and the private sector.
John Callinan was appointed as Secretary General to the government and Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach in May 2022.
Previously, John was the Second Secretary General at the Department of the Taoiseach since 2016. In that role he had lead responsibility for the International and EU Affairs Division and the Britain/Northern Ireland Division, including the Shared Island Unit. He was also the Taoiseach’s “Sherpa” (senior EU advisor) and lead negotiator on Brexit.
John joined the Department of the Taoiseach in 1998, and worked in a number of policy areas since then. He was appointed Assistant Secretary General in 2007 and led a number of Divisions in the department between 2007 and 2016, including Economic Policy, Social Policy, EU and International Affairs, and Britain/Northern Ireland.
Prior to joining the Taoiseach’s department, John worked in a number of areas of the Revenue Commissioners. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he also spent four years at the European Commission in Brussels.
David Moloney is the secretary general of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform He is head of the Labour Market and Enterprise Division of the department, with responsibility for various expenditure areas including Social Protection, Housing, Enterprise and Agriculture and for the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES).
Over the course of his career in the Civil Service, David has also served in the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Finance and the Department of Health.
Justice Garrett Sheehan, retired judge of the Court of Appeal, has been appointed by President Michael Higgins to a six-year term as Commission Chairperson, effective 9 December 2020.
Garrett Sheehan began his career as a solicitor. He was appointed to the High Court in 2007, and to the Court of Appeal in 2014, where he served until his retirement in 2017.
Our work at the Commission is supported by a dedicated team led by Commission Director Elaine Cassidy and Secretary Sorcha Murray. The Office of the Ombudsman also provides shared services in areas such as human resources, financial management and information and communications technology.