Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Was the application process open to a wide group of people, including people from other jurisdictions? Did NewERA advise on recruiting or was it just on the salary?

Another issue arose over a car that was declined. I believe this pertains to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. We need to make inquiries into what transpired. A salary is one thing but an overall package is entirely different. What happened? It is a bit too open-ended for my liking.

The second last paragraph on the second page of the response from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform states that, in line with the statutory remit referenced, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine sought an independent assessment by NewERA of the remuneration proposed by Horse Racing Ireland. Following its assessment of the proposal of Horse Racing Ireland, NewERA recommended that the proposed salary of €190,773 be approved. It appears that the basis for this seems to have been the salary of the outgoing person and that there is established custom and practice in relation to that. That actually raises another issue, concerning, for example, the salary scales of the Secretaries General and the deviation. Is what I am referring to a standard now? The response is coming from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Where there is a deviation, is it now going to be the basis for why a salary should commence at a particular level, that of the previous incumbent? For example, if the Secretary General of the Department of Health moved out of that role and somebody else moved in, would that person’s salary represent the standard set by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform? I would like some clarification on that.