Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 48, 66, 181 and 182 together.

The guidelines on staffing in ministerial offices were revised following decisions by the Government on a number of cost saving measures relating to the personal appointees of Ministers and Ministers of State. The guidelines specify that all appointments of ministerial staff, including the pay and terms and conditions of employment, require the prior sanction of my Department. Appointments from outside of the Civil Service also require the sanction of the Taoiseach.

The appointment of special advisers requires the approval of Government in accordance with section 11 of the Public Service Management Act 1997. A Minister, or a Minister of State who regularly attends Cabinet, may appoint up to two special advisers. The legislation provides that there is no limit on the number of special advisers for the Taoiseach and Tánaiste. Special advisers have been employed by Ministers of successive Governments and perform an essential function in providing expert advice, expertise and insights on the key strategic issues facing Ministers on a daily basis.

The guidelines provide that special advisers are to be placed on the principal officer, standard, scale, which currently runs from €80,051 at the minimum to €92,672 at the maximum. They provide that appointments are to be on the first point on the scale except where I approve a higher starting salary. Therefore, in cases where a special adviser's basic pay prior to the appointment was greater than the minimum, it is open to Ministers to seek sanction from me to appoint the person at a higher starting level. The guidelines provide that separate arrangements apply to the staffing requirements of the Offices of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste.

The Government recognised there would be occasions when a higher salary was required in order to secure the appointment of an adviser with particular skills and expertise. On this basis, the guidelines provide for specific individual exceptions in circumstances that are considered to be unique, special or exceptional.

Remuneration in excess of the minimum point of the principal officer standard scale has been sanctioned by me in a number of instances based on the business case presented, which I require in each case. In the majority of cases, this has been based on evidence of higher earnings in the previous employment or the current employment of people who were being recruited by Ministers. Exceptions were kept to the minimum and in all cases value for money considerations were uppermost in my mind. In a number of cases, special advisers have been appointed on substantially reduced salaries compared to what they were earning.

There have been cases where I have approved exceptions for the pay of special advisers, other than in the case of the Departments of the Taoiseach and Tánaiste. Exceptions approved by me include advisers to the Minister for Social Protection, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, the Minister for Health and the Minister for Education and Skills.

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