Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The birthing of so many baby Ministers would make boom-time Bertie blush. Figures compiled by the Labour Party suggest that each of these new posts will cost the State upwards of €500,000 annually. The starting cost to the public of this stroke Government will be over €1.5 million per year when we add in the new overnight allowance for Ministers of State the creation of further super junior positions. That amounts to €7.5 million over the prospective five-year term of the Government. When I spoke during the election campaign on the need to focus on creating well-paid indigenous Irish jobs, this is not what I meant. The boom-time baby Minister bonanza is back it seems. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are prepared to spend a shedload of taxpayers' money to keep Independents and their own TDs happy with new positions.

The latest stroke by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and their partner in government Michael Lowry has smashed the pre-crash record of 20 Ministers of State. By the time the committee chair gigs are doled out, we will have in excess of 50 TDs with Government-sponsored jobs. The idea clearly is that once they are bought, they will all stay bought and remain loyal. It is clear as day that there is no objective justification for these new roles despite the honeyed words in the Minister's script. It is not as if the business-as-usual programme for Government requires a series of newly minted junior Ministers to deliver its extremely modest and conservative set of ambitions over the five years of the programme. This is a self-serving move designed to keep sweet as many Government-supporting TDs as possible. Since the general election, we have seen the unwelcome return of the arrogance and hubris the country came to associate with Fianna Fáil in the past. That is writ large in the Bill. Along with the proposed undetermined tax breaks the Taoiseach wishes to award to property developers, we know this type of thing never ends well. It is a case of back to the future. If the Bill progresses unchanged, we will have seen an expansion from 15 junior Ministers in early 2015 to 23 today. We in the Labour Party are convinced the creation of these new posts will not prove to be value for money for the State or the taxpayer.

The Minister mentioned the 2007 legislation that provided for 20 junior Ministers, but we, in government in the crisis years and picking up Fianna Fáil's mess, did not see that as a target; it was a ceiling. Some 16 were appointed by 2016. It was a ceiling, not a target.

We are proposing amendments to the Bill which will require the Government to not only put a lid on the expansion in the number of junior Minister posts but also to be transparent about the costs of each new baby Minister. Our amendment would require the Comptroller and Auditor General to require the Secretary General of each Department of State by April of each year to report on the costs incurred in the previous year attributed to any Minister of State in that Department. This would include the cost of special advisers, civilian drivers and staff working in the private office of the Minister of State. The statement of costs could include the cost of any functions performed by and official responsibilities carried out by the Minister of State. The statements would be open for review by the Comptroller and Auditor General. That is one of the few amendments that has passed beneath the watchful eye of the Bills Office. That is an argument we will have later.

If the Government is truly convinced these new posts are both necessary and value for money, it will support that amendment. It will have nothing to fear from an amendment that aims to protect the public purse from any waste that may occur by the creation of these unprecedented posts.

Labour estimates the cost of each new Minister of State is approximately €500,000 per year, while the all-in cost of three new positions, an extra Minister of State attending Cabinet and a new overnight allowance for eligible Ministers is over €1.5 million per year or €7.5 million over the lifetime of the Government, not including pension, office or establishment costs. In addition to the annual TD salary of €113,679, the new Ministers will receive a Minister of State allowance of €45,846, bringing starting pay to just under €160,000. Junior Ministers can hire two civilian drivers with annualised salaries of close to €45,000 and there are expenses associated with that; that is only fair. The Minister incurs mileage as well, which nobody disagrees with here. They also retain their two TD staff members, a parliamentary assistant and an administrative assistant. Officeholders, including each new Minister of State, receive a special secretarial allowance of up to €48,515, not from their own Department but from the Houses of the Oireachtas, which allows them to hire an additional staff member or contract, for example, secretarial or PR services. That is paid for by the Houses of the Oireachtas and is an entitlement not extended to Opposition TDs, with the small number of staff we have to try to mark the Government and make it accountable.

I have tabled what I might describe as a negative amendment. It would not incur a charge on the State. In fact, it would ensure that the cost to the State was reduced

See this speech in context