So, how did Aaron Forde’s tweets slip through net?

A FRIEND of mine applied for a mid-level post in the public service. Talk about a rigorous, timeconsuming process. First, he completed an exhaustive application form where he could opt in or out of trendy questions about his gender identity before detailing his education and career. Stage 2 involved a video interview in which he delivered pre-prepared answers at the camera while trying not to look frantic or robotic in the process. He was eliminated at that point so he never got to meet the panel for even closer scrutiny. I asked my mate if he thought the panel would go through his social media and he said he had taken the precaution of giving it the onceover just in case.

Which brings me to the bizarre un-appointment of Aaron Forde as the chair of the Shannon Group. Why did he not take down his combustible tweets about the

Green Party and Travellers when his hat was in the ring for such a prestigious State appointment? As for the selection process, it beggars belief that Minister Eamon Ryan and his army of spin doctors and researchers did not check the Chosen One’s social media history before dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s.

As my friend can attest, the Public Appointments Service runs a watertight process for ordinary jobs – but it appears to have dropped the ball in this case. Or is it that while mere mortals have to squirm and bare their souls for modestly enumerated posts in the public service, that swaggering captains of industry get a pass?