Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 10: To ask the Taoiseach the number of staff broken down by grade in private offices and constituency offices in respect of himself and each Minister of State within his Department; the annual costs in terms of salaries and expenses of each such office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38686/06]

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 11: To ask the Taoiseach the cost of staffing his private and constituency offices and those of his Ministers of State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41356/06]

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 11 together.

The number of staff broken down by grade in my private office and constituency office, in the offices of the Minister of State and Government Chief Whip and the Minister of State for European Affairs, as well the annual costs in terms of salaries and expenses of each such office are detailed in material which I propose to include in the Official Report. With regard to Deputy Rabbitte's question, 12 staff, as well as one usher, are employed in my private office; and nine staff, four clerical officers and five others, are employed in my constituency office.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

Staff in my private office comprise one private secretary at assistant principal grade, one assistant principal, two assistant private secretaries at higher executive officer grade, one personal assistant, one staff officer, one executive officer, five clerical officers and one usher. The total cost, estimated to November 2006, of salaries including allowances and overtime for my private office is €675,217, while expenses total €2,508.

Staff in my constituency office comprise two personal assistants, one personal secretary, one executive officer, one staff officer and four clerical officers. The total cost of salaries including allowances and overtime for my constituency office is €291,442. No expenses are incurred.

Staff of the office of the Minister of State and Government Chief Whip comprise one private secretary at higher executive officer grade, one executive officer, two staff officers, one staff officer, one clerical officer, one personal assistant and one personal secretary. The total cost, estimated to November 2006, of salaries including allowances and overtime for the staff of the office of the Minister of State and Government Chief Whip is €389,430, while expenses total €7,312.

Staff of the office of the Minister of State for European Affairs, excluding Department of Foreign Affairs Staff, comprise one private secretary at higher executive officer grade and one clerical officer. The total cost, estimated to November 2006, of salaries including allowances and overtime for the staff of the office of the Minister of State for European affairs is €96,430, while expenses total €1,196.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I will repeat my question. While I accept the Taoiseach has a huge constituency workload, is it not the case that he has an extravagant array of staff to back him up? Such a facility is not afforded to the rest of us in any fashion. I note the Taoiseach said he has cut back on his level of staffing. The Taoiseach referred to the appointment of a personal tipstaff. Was that always there? Is that a new appointment? What exactly is the responsibility of that appointment? Is the Taoiseach saying there is now one person less in his private office than there was when this question was last answered, about a year ago?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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They are all civil servants. Many of the people in the private office and the constituency office are civil servants who are always seeking promotions to other areas. There is always a movement of people. I do not think there is any great change. The individual in question is a former member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas. I think the person held their entitlements from here. The person in question brings delegations and deputations from the gates of Government Buildings through the House, back and forward, on a daily basis. I think the person just happens to be somebody who was seconded from here. There was somebody else doing it, but it was not a member of the staff here. In the advisory staff, there is one less, or maybe even two less, over the last few years. Dr. Martin Mansergh became a Senator and there was also a change in the numbers. Most of the constituency staff are juniors. Most of them are from the former typist grades, the clerical officer grade and the staff officer grade. There are two personal assistants. I think all of the others, bar one, are civil servants.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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The Taoiseach is one of the lucky Deputies who have constituency offices in respect of which they do not have to pay rent. Would the Taoiseach like to comment on the level of fairness in that regard? I refer to the fact that Deputies like him, who have property, are able to base their constituency offices in their own properties, whereas Deputies who have no property have to pay the commercial rate to rent such offices. Both categories of Deputy are treated the same by the Oireachtas, essentially. Is there not a need to look at that from the point of view of fairness? Although the Taoiseach is benefiting from this arrangement, I am sure he empathises with those of us who do not have the fortune to have mighty trusts providing us with offices free of charge.

I would like to ask a question that relates to the Taoiseach's own office. Will the Taoiseach tell the people in his office that it is not appropriate to send electoral material in Oireachtas envelopes with Christmas cards? The Taoiseach's Christmas cards include a request for people to help him with his canvassing or with anything else he needs to get re-elected. Has the Taoiseach given an instruction to his officials in that regard? While my colleague, Patricia McKenna, welcomed the Taoiseach's Christmas greetings, it came as a bit of a shock to her to be asked to help with the Taoiseach's canvassing. I thought it was quite audacious of the Taoiseach to make such a request. Will the Taoiseach advise his officials in that regard? None of us, least of all the Taoiseach, wants to get into trouble for flouting electoral regulations.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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My political party has had a house and an office in my constituency since the 1940s.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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The Taoiseach is very lucky.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Sargent's party might have a similar facility in due course. My party has moved from one office to another over the last 60 years.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I have two offices.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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If Deputy Sargent's party were to make an effort to do likewise, it could be in exactly the same position.

Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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That party is fairly active on the ground.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Now that Deputy Sargent has raised it, I think it is peculiar that even if one does not pay rent, one gets a form every year saying that one received the benefit of rent that one never paid. It is extraordinary. It is misleading because when people see it, they think one paid rent because one notionally declared it.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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It does not cost anything.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Exactly, and then one sees a declaration that the value of it is €30,000 when there is no cost. It is totally confusing but those are the rules and I comply with them.

With regard to using Oireachtas envelopes, which I did, it is totally within my entitlement — I have had a chance to check this — to distribute what is not an electoral leaflet. I was shocked that Patricia McKenna was upset about this because only three days earlier she came to me to ask me to help her with the school her children attend. If she came to ask me to do that, I thought she might help me out. I did not think there was anything wrong with it.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I assure the Deputy I will help her out anyway.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I do not think eight people in the Taoiseach's constituency office is enough with other candidates coming to him for help. I do not know how he does it.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Too many staff.