CO and EO with Fluency in Irish: How the Competition Actually Works

If you have Irish and you are looking at the civil service, the competitions run with a fluency requirement work differently to the general campaigns. Different enough that most of the standard advice does not apply to you.

The headline, based on what candidates who have sat these competitions report: the Irish-language streams have not used the standard online aptitude battery. The application form is the real hurdle.

Why these competitions exist, and why there will be more

This is not a niche experiment. It is a statutory commitment with a date on it.

Under the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, an objective was set that by 2030, 20% of new recruits to the public service and civil service be proficient in Irish. The National Plan for Irish Language Public Services 2024 to 2030 sets out how the State intends to get there, and B2 on the Common European Framework is cited as the minimum level at which someone can comfortably carry out their duties through Irish.

The practical consequence for you is that Irish-language competitions are a recurring route rather than a one-off, and they run at multiple grades. Recent years have seen Clerical Officer, Executive Officer and Higher Executive Officer competitions with a fluency requirement.

One is open right now: Higher Executive Officer in the Civil Service with Fluency in Irish 2026, closing 17 September 2026, running alongside the general open HEO campaign. Candidates reading the listing report vacancies currently in Donegal, Dublin and Galway. Its candidate information booklet governs its own format, including whether any online assessment applies at that grade, so read it rather than assuming the pattern below carries up. The Irish-language Clerical Officer and Executive Officer competitions remain flagged as upcoming with no date published.

The format, as candidates describe it

Everything in this section is drawn from candidates who sat prior-year Irish-language competitions. Formats change between competitions, and the candidate information booklet published with your competition is the only thing that governs yours. Read it and believe it over anything here.

With that said, the reported pattern is consistent and it is strikingly different to the general campaigns:

Clerical Officer with Irish. A candidate who sat the CO Irish stream reported no online testing at all. Application form and interview.

Executive Officer with Irish, 2024. Reported as running on the competency model rather than the newer framework, with the application form asking for STAR-style examples up front. Candidates then sat a written exercise in Irish at a scheduled time, following instructions issued through publicjobs. Interview followed.

So instead of a battery of verbal, numerical and situational judgement tests deciding your ranking before anyone reads a word you wrote, the written work you submit is central from the very first step.

What that changes about how you prepare

If you are used to the general competition, this is close to an inversion.

The application form is the exam. In the general campaigns the form is largely eligibility and the tests do the ranking. Here, candidates report being asked to evidence entire competencies on the strength of a single example each, at the application stage, before any assessment. One candidate described the form as the hardest part of the whole process, which is not something anybody says about the general campaign.

You need your examples ready before you apply, not after. In the general campaign you can sit the tests and then spend the wait building your bank of examples. Here you need them on day one, written out properly, each one carrying a full competency on its own.

Practising aptitude tests may be the wrong preparation entirely. If your competition has no online testing, time spent on numerical and verbal practice is time not spent on the thing that is actually being marked.

Your written Irish is assessed directly. A scheduled written exercise as Gaeilge is a different kind of preparation again, and it is not something a general prep course will touch.

The bit nobody expects: your odds may be better

Two things candidates reported about the 2024 round are worth knowing.

First, deadlines were extended on both the CO and EO Irish competitions. Candidates read that as low application volume, and it is a reasonable read.

Second, competition for places at the top of these panels appeared far softer than in the general campaigns. Candidates were reporting single-digit and low-teen positions on the order of merit in named counties, in a process where the general campaign generates order-of-merit numbers in the thousands.

If you have the Irish, this is a materially less crowded route into the same grades.

What it does not change

Some things work exactly as they do everywhere else, and it is worth not being surprised by them.

Panels still work the same way. You are ranked, you wait for a vacancy in your location, and being high on the panel does not mean an offer is imminent. Candidates on the 2024 EO Irish panel reported the same slow movement and the same location dependence as everywhere else, with certain counties called first and no guarantee that a given position would be reached.
Clearance still takes months. Garda vetting, references, assignment, written offer. Same sequence, same timelines.
You will not necessarily work through Irish all day. Candidates report the booklet stating this explicitly. The requirement is capability to deliver services in Irish, not a guarantee of an all-Irish role, and posts are not confined to Gaeltacht or Irish-language bodies.

FAQ

Is there an aptitude test for the Irish-language civil service competitions? Candidates who sat prior Irish-language competitions report no online aptitude testing, or a scheduled written exercise in Irish instead. This differs from the general campaigns. Your competition’s information booklet is the authority for your competition.

What level of Irish do I need? B2 on the Common European Framework is cited in the national plan as the minimum level for carrying out duties through Irish. Individual competitions set their own requirement, stated in the booklet.

Will I be working entirely through Irish? Not necessarily. Candidates report booklets stating explicitly that you may not do all of your work through Irish.

Are these jobs only in the Gaeltacht or in Irish-language departments? No. The statutory objective applies across the public service, and candidates report posts are not confined to Irish-language bodies.

Are my chances better in an Irish-language competition? Candidate reporting from recent rounds suggests lower application volumes and much lower order-of-merit numbers than the general campaigns. That is an observation about prior rounds, not a promise about the next one.

When is the next one? A Higher Executive Officer with Fluency in Irish competition is open now, closing 17 September 2026. The Irish-language Clerical Officer and Executive Officer roles remain flagged as upcoming without a published date. Watch the publicjobs current vacancies listing and news hub.

If you are getting ready for one

The preparation that actually matters here is the bank of examples, because in these competitions it is doing the work from the very first form rather than after the tests.

The STAR method guide covers how to structure an example so it stands up to being marked, and the civil service grades guide covers what each grade is expected to demonstrate. If you want the interview side, that is what the Prep tier is built for.

The aptitude practice on this site is built for the general campaigns. If your competition has no aptitude stage, you do not need it, and we would rather tell you that than sell it to you.