THE latest news from the upper echelons of the permanent government is that assistant secretaries throughout the civil service have been asked to write essays on "The qualities of a good Secretary of a Government Department.

The essay assignment is part of the process for selecting new Secretaries for the Departments of Social Welfare, Environment, Agriculture and Enterprise and Employment.

The Margin has visions of grown men with knee socks around their ankles and short trousers revealing hairy legs, huddled over their copy books so none of their "classmates" can cog.