Ex-Gilmore adviser to take up civil service post

The former economic adviser to ex-tánaiste Eamon Gilmore is set to take up a senior civil service position in the Department of Health.

Colm O'Reardon, a member of Mr Gilmore's inner circle when the outgoing Dún Laoghaire TD was leader of the Labour Party, will become a deputy secretary general in the department headed by Minister for Health Leo Varadkar.

Mr Varadkar welcomed the appointment which was made by the Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC). “I’m delighted to have him join the team,” he said.

A brother of Labour Minister of State Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Mr O’Reardon is currently working in Brussels with the European Commission’s in-house think tank, the European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC).

He attended the Government's Economic Management Council (EMC) until Mr Gilmore stood down after the local and European elections in May 2014.

Previously Mr O’Reardon was Labour’s director of policy.

He is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, Cambridge University and the University of Oxford, where he was also a Rhodes Scholar.

The TLAC plays a key role in identifying and selecting candidates for the most senior positions throughout the Civil Service.