Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

Our hearts go out to the unfortunate, under-paid and over-stressed advisers, especially since they were not even consulted in the context of the recent crisis when they could have been very useful. It begs the question in what type of work they are involved. Do they deputise for Ministers? Do they attend meetings instead of Ministers? Do they do so at home or abroad? To what extent do they contact various agencies outside their respective Departments and the Oireachtas? For example, do they contact national or local radio stations or newspapers or advise on editorial policy? What did they do over the past month for €1 million, for example?

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