Equality: Ulster Catholics still excluded

The increasing rate of Catholics in top civil service and local government jobs in Northern Ireland must quicken, a report said today. Even though there has been a "marked improvement" in the share of Catholics holding senior grades since l990, more progress was needed, according to a study of posts in major public sector organisations by Ulster's Fair Employment Commission (FEC). The overall increase in the five years since then was 4.2 per cent, but Catholics still remained under-represented among senior grades in some areas of the public sector, the report said.

They were least well represented at the most senior levels. And while the potential for change may be limited because of a continuing downward pressure on resources, the report said the FEC believed further action needed to be taken, particularly in the civil service.