Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

It does not concern the staff referred to in these questions. These non-established civil servants, including contract staff and political advisers, remain in place for the duration of my tenure. Their tenure ends whenever my tenure ends.

We will be having a press conference today at 3.30 p.m. on the decisions made by the Government. The press release will be laid before the House and there will be an opportunity at 4.15 p.m. to discuss it further. There will then be a nine hour debate on the economy over Wednesday and Thursday. The Government is preparing the press release at present, based on decisions which have just been made.

The specific personnel mentioned in the questions are governed by the guidelines that apply to special advisers under the Public Service Management Act 1997.

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