Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On foot of the controversy and having thought about the issue, I acceded to greater wisdom and decided to stay out of the process. I am staying out of it entirely. It is entirely a matter for the Secretary General to order the Department and decide how many staff are in each division and office, what they do and how roles are allocated.

It is not correct that more people are working on communications than in other areas. The Department has more than 20 staff members working in the EU and international affairs division, for example. It is also important to recognise that the role of the Department is to support my work, as Taoiseach and to co-ordinate the work of the Government and Cabinet. We have Departments of Health, Finance and Housing, Planning and Local Government. It is not necessary for my Department to replicate everything that is already in place across Departments. It is not necessary, therefore, to have a housing office with a housing adviser or an education office with an education adviser in my Department. That would be unnecessary, would duplicate work that is being done and would probably cause tension between my Department and other Departments if the latter were being second guessed all the time.

We have extensive expertise across Departments and it does not need to be replicated in mine. My Department's role is to co-ordinate the work of Government, to run the Cabinet committees and drive the programme for Government forward, and to engage in troubleshooting and controversy management on a daily basis.

The total budget for the Department of the Taoiseach will be lower in 2018 than it was in 2017. It is one of the few Departments where the total budget is being reduced.

In terms of politically appointed staff, those appointed by me, the total number I have - this, of course, includes staff who are assigned to the Independents and includes civilian drivers - is 19, as against 23 for my predecessor. I have fewer staff than my forebear had politically appointed and he had many fewer, and they cost much less, than his forebears, the former taoisigh, Mr. Brian Cowen and Mr. Bertie Ahern. One is seeing a reduction in the number of politically appointed staff in the Department and a reduction in the cost to the taxpayer of politically appointed staff, which is something that is worth at least putting on the record of the Dáil.

In terms of capacity, we have extended the capacity in the EU and international affairs section of the Department to deal with Brexit but we also have the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. More so than ever before, my Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are working hand in glove. I am working with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, hand in glove. We have all the resources of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including all of the embassies and the Permanent Representation in Brussels, at our disposal. That amounts to hundreds of staff. We are not short-staffed when it comes to dealing with the enormous challenge presented by Brexit.

In terms of the gender divide, it is certainly predominantly male at assistant secretary level and PO level.

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