Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service (GCHQ) is a British intelligence agency that provides signals intelligence to the British government and armed forces. Prior to 1983 its existence was not acknowledged, despite the fact that it openly recruited graduates. Following a spy scandal in 1983, the organisation became known to the public, and the government of Margaret Thatcher decided a year later that employees would not be allowed to join a trade union for national security reasons. The Minister for the Civil Service is a position held "ex officio" by the Prime Minister. This was done through an Order in Council, an exercise of the Royal
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