Government defends plan to hire up to 70 advisers
AN unprecedented number of advisers – expected to be as many as 70 – is being recruited by the new Government at a huge cost to the taxpayer.
The last government had 49 advisers, and Michéal Martin was yesterday forced to defend the increase, claiming the roles were needed to ensure ‘cohesion, genuine partnership and parity of esteem’.
Speaking in the Dáil, the Taoiseach revealed that up to 17 staff will be employed between the leaders of the three government parties, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party. Mr Martin will have six staff, a chief of staff (on a salary of €132,646-€151,740), a deputy chief of staff (€132,646-€151,740), and three special advisers (€83,090€102,159) as well as an adviser on economic policy.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar will have an office in the Department of the Taoiseach and it will consist of a private office and a policy and programme implementation unit.
Mr Varadkar will have ‘five or six’ advisers. He had seven while he was taoiseach.
The Taoiseach did not clarify yesterday if Mr Varadkar will receive additional staff for his role as Minister for Enterprise.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan will have ‘four or five’ advisers.
Mr Martin said the purpose of these is to support the Tánaiste and the leader of the Green Party in the coordination and implementation of policy within Government. However, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald described the new roles as ‘most irregular’ and ‘absolutely extraordinary’.
‘I’m very concerned that we now have a Holy Trinity of Taoiseach – or at least a Holy Trinity of very senior actors located in the Department of An Taoiseach at a considerable expense to the taxpayer,’ she said.
Labour Party leader Alan Kelly said it amounted to an ‘incredible amount of advisers’.
‘None of the 20 Ministers of State [should] have advisers. It would be wrong to put taxpayers through that. I do not have an issue with Ministers of State who will sit at Cabinet having advisers,’ he said.
The Taoiseach said that he did ‘not agree’ with Mr Kelly and that ‘there is a need for them [advisers]. Government is becoming wide-ranging, there are areas, such as insurance, that need specialist attention,’ he added.
While the details are not finalised, Mr Martin has committed to publishing full details of advisers. Mr Martin told Mr Kelly that the model they were using dates back to the Fianna Fail-Labour Government between 1992 and 1994.
‘Absolutely extraordinary’