Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

People want the programme for Government to be implemented. They want to see through the political commitments that have been made. That was a major turning point in how Government works in terms of the use of special advisers. In the Northern Ireland Executive, the role of special advisers is strong and I have no difficulty with that. We know that special advisers in Northern Ireland play a key role in advising Ministers and working the machinery of government.

Not all of the advisers will be political. Some of them will have expertise in economics or other specific areas. My advisers have been allocated based on particular policy areas. One innovation of the new Government is the reintroduction of some substantive Cabinet committees to work through key areas and objectives of Government, including housing, health and climate change.

Other Cabinet sub-committees, such as that dealing with economic recovery, will meet on a monthly basis to bring a more cross-sectoral and cross-departmental approach to the business of Government. That is why there will be advisers for each party. This approach is to ensure cohesion, genuine partnership and parity of esteem within Government. It is not about one party lording it over another. I have made that very clear from the beginning.

The last Government had, for example, advisers for the Independent Alliance and for an Independent Minister. It had 19 Ministers of State, and this Government has one more. That is hardly earth-shattering.

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