Civil Service (United Kingdom) programme itself. The position of 'Minister for the Civil Service' is not part of the Civil Service as it is a political position which has always been held by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The highest ranking civil servant in the country is the Cabinet Secretary. A subsidiary title that was also held by the incumbent was "Head of the Home Civil Service" or more recently sometimes styled "Head of the Civil Service", who until recently was also the incumbent Cabinet Secretary and Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office. However, following the Coalition Government of David Cameron the
Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland was essentially a transitional arrangement and in 1924 was replaced by the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1924. The result of these acts was the Civil Service Commissioners (later the "Office of the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commissioners"), a commission of three persons charged with determining the standards for entry to the "Civil Service of the Government of Saorstát Éireann". Entry to the civil service was generally by competitive examination, and a number of qualifications such as ability, age, character, health and knowledge could be predefined. Applicants also had to meet nationality requirements. The competitive examination system was created to