Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

It is down to the officeholder to determine value and if he wants to retain an adviser. To do the job and to obtain advice independent of the Civil Service - while not denigrating the quality of Civil Service advice - and to complete the perspective, people in high office need to make the best possible decisions. It is a matter of opinion, it is not an exact science. We have in the system a small number, relative to the total number of people available to the Government, who come in from outside, some of whom are known to officeholders when they employ them, while others are not known. Not all of the people who work for me were known to me personally. They are committed to the task they have been given and work to advance Government policy, along with people in the public service, permanent civil servants and others, and to implement Government policy.

If this is isolated, people try to suggest that it costs a great deal. In terms of the cost of the public service, these are small numbers but they are valid nonetheless.

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