Yeah guys, the letter was signed by an Taoiseach, on his department's official letterhead, a bit different from a local TD lashing out an auld letter on behalf of some chappie looking for a job.
My opinion of it is that it was a simple empty gesture by his office.
Josephine has diddly squat involvement in recruitment in Revenue, that's the bottom line. And Enda and his staff know that well, but the constituent who no doubt got a copy of the letter too, probably didn't know that.
Even look at something as low level and simple as the hiring of temporary clerical officers in Revenue for 12-week summer contracts - if there was a culture of "pull" it would surely prevail at this the lowest recruitment grade (and least significant arguably as the contracts are only temporary) - I know of several instances of people (children of Revenue employees, on their summer hols from college) who got a TCO job one summer, did very well in the job and subsequently reapplied the following year, only to fail to get the job. If that doesn't indicate impartiality in the recruitment process, I don't know what does.
As for the normal recruitment process for permanent posts, I know several people who've been through it, at several levels from junior to middle to senior managerial competitions, successfully and unsuccessfully, and none ever suggested that the process is anything other than independent and fair.
Anyway, no-one gets a job by sending their CV to Revenue - they advertise competitions when jobs are coming available, and only people who apply through the correct channels, on the prescribed form, by the prescribed deadline (and oh boy are they strict on the deadline, to the minute), will be considered for a role.