A female civil servant has been appointed for the first time to the most senior post in the Department of Education and Science.
Ms Brigid McManus will take up her new role as secretary general in Education next week after her appointment was formally approved by the Cabinet yesterday. At present, she is an assistant secretary at the Department of Finance with responsibility for the Budget.
The appointment means two secretary general posts will be held by women. Ms Julie O'Neill is secretary general at the Department of Transport.
However, Ms Finola Flanagan occupies the broadly similar role of director general at the Office of the Attorney General, and Ms Josephine Feehily is one of two commissioners or secretaries general with the Revenue Commissioners.
Until now, just three women have held the most senior post in a Government Department. Ms Thekla Beere was the first woman to take such a post in the late 1960s, in Transport. Ms Margaret Hayes was secretary general in Arts, Sport and Tourism until her retirement three years ago.
Ms McManus's appointment was widely welcomed in Government circles last night. She is expected to modernise the Department of Education, which has been criticised in some quarters for being too inward-looking. An appointment from outside the Department was widely expected.
As secretary general, Ms McManus will exert a huge influence on education over the next seven years. She will also control one of the largest-spending Departments with an annual budget in excess of €7 billion.
Ms McManus, who is 46, is a former adviser to Ms Síle de Valera. She played a pivotal role in negotiations in Brussels which successfully defended the Republic's low corporation tax levels.
Educated at Manor House School, Raheny, she holds a degree in history and economics from UCD and a diploma in public administration from the École Nationale d'Administration, Paris.
Ms McManus was one of eight candidates interviewed for the post. Three names were then forwarded to the Minister for Education and Science, Ms Hanafin, who last night welcomed the appointment. "Ms McManus is a very experienced and dedicated civil servant. I know that as secretary general she will make a major contribution to tackling the many challenges facing the Irish education system," she said.
The appointment means that many of the key roles in the Department are held by women. Ms Geraldine Butler is press officer, while Ms Averil Power is policy adviser.
Ms McManus will replace Mr John Dennehy who steps down next Monday. He has been credited with a series of modernising measures including the establishment of Department offices in regional towns and cities, the formation of the State Exams Commission and other independent agencies.
Surprisingly, only one of the five assistant secretaries in Education applied for the post of secretary general: Mr Martin Hanevy, whose responsibilities include finance and buildings. Other candidates were an assistant secretary at the Department of the Taoiseach, Ms Mary Doyle, and Mr Tom Boland, chief executive officer of the Higher Education Authority.
