Departmental Staff Mr. Litterick asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many men and women have been recruited by his Department during the last 12-month period for which figures are available; and, of these, how many were Protestant, Catholic or of neither persuasion, respectively. Mr. Mason In common with other Government Departments, the Northern Ireland Office has delegated authority from the Civil Service Commission to recruit certain specific grades. From within this area of delegated authority, the Northern Ireland Office employs clerical, secretarial, messengerial and industrial staff, and during the year ended 31st October 1978, five men and 37 women were recruited.Applicants are not required to state their religion and it is therefore not possible to provide the additional information requested.