Independent ministers’ advisers paid €1m a year
THE bill for advisers and press officers of Independent ministers and junior ministers – many of whom campaigned on an anti-cronyism ticket – is now more than €1m a year.
The scale of the bill has prompted Fianna Fáil TD James Lawless to suggest that Independent ministers who are still ‘pocketing the Independent leader allowance should return the State subvention’.
All Independent TDs receive what is called a Parliamentary Activities Allowance (PAA) of €37,084. However, Mr Lawless has claimed Independent TDs who become ministers should forfeit their allowance. Mr Lawless told the Irish Mail on Sunday he had, ‘no issue with Independent TDs securing the allowance, but Independent ministers, particularly under this administration, have an army of advisers and should not draw down further supports’. The six Independent TDs, who decided to go into Government on a ‘reform’ ticket have, to date, racked up a retinue of 13 advisers at a cost of €1.012m a year to the taxpayer.
There are three Independent ministers in cabinet – Shane Ross, Katherine Zappone, and Denis Naughten – while Sean Canny, John Halligan and Finian McGrath are junior ministers.
The bill per TD varies with Zappone costing €171,500 a year, and Ross and Naughten costing €148,802 each. The Independent Leaders’ Allowance was established when Independent TDs did not have the same backup as party TDs.
Mr Lawless said: ‘These figures suggest people like Shane Ross are hardly lonely, isolated backbenchers who need a hand up to secure the attention of the world, they have entire departments to support them.’ The most recent figures on the cost of advisers reveals that the Cabinet employs 96 advisers at an annual cost of €5m with Enda Kenny’s office alone costing €1.4m a year.
A senior source within the Independent Alliance said: ‘This new deputy should get his facts right, political parties receive far greater allowances for TDs.’
Another said: ‘These figures reveal we are far better value, it’s the old parties like Fianna Fáil who are actually coining it.’
Parties get a PAA of €64,358 for the first ten TDs, €51,493 for the next 20 and €35,474 for each remaining TD.