Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

The Minister of State said he is dealing with people who are coming into the permanent Civil Service but on a probationary basis. He is also implying that he is dealing with civil servants on contract who are unestablished. Deputy Bruton's amendment concerns a person who is employed by a Minister as an adviser on contract in that provision is being made for him or her to be in an unestablished position or, as I stated in respect of the National Aquatic Centre, for contracts to be given via a company owned by Ministers. What is the position on Government advisers, be they directly appointed as advisers and, therefore, unestablished civil servants or, as was referred to in the Quigley case, appointed by means of a contract?

The Minister of State referred to unestablished civil servants who are on contract. His reply has not been at all clear on this matter. The question pertaining to civil servants on probation, who are perhaps entering a long-term career as ordinary civil servants, is entirely different to that pertaining to advisers and other such people who may be appointed in a political context but who are unestablished. The Minister of State has not answered this.

My original question — I hope the Minister of State will not become irritated when I refer to it — related to the mechanism whereby a valuable State asset worth €62 million was run through the device of a company being managed by people apparently on leave from the Civil Service, who then contracted their responsibility to operate it out to a consortium. A distinguished judge was incredulous that the State could have done this in the way it had been done. My question was reasonable and deserves a reasoned response rather than a tetchy one.

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