Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1: To ask the Taoiseach the number of political advisors working in his Department; and the total cost of same. [8371/11]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 2: To ask the Taoiseach if he has assigned responsibility for policy relating to Northern Ireland to any special advisor. [9568/11]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 3: To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide a full list of advisors and other staff appointed to his Department since his election as Taoiseach; and if he will provide details of the salaries each person will receive. [10720/11]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together.

There are five special advisers appointed in my Department, four of whom are my special advisers and one of whom is a special adviser to the Chief Whip. In addition, three special advisers appointed by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade have offices in Government Buildings. I am also appointing four personal assistants and two personal secretaries. The Chief Whip will have one personal assistant and one personal secretary. I am circulating in the Official Report a list of advisers and other staff appointed to my Department.

The terms and conditions of employment of my special advisers and other appointees are being finalised. The cost of remuneration for my staff will be considerably lower than under previous Administrations, by at least 20%.

In relation to policy on Northern Ireland, among other duties, my chief of staff, Mr. Mark Kennelly, will work closely with the Northern Ireland division of my Department to ensure I am kept fully briefed on all developments.

The table lists advisers and other staff appointed to the Department of the Taoiseach.

The table lists Advisers and other staff appointed by the Tanaiste working in Government Buildings.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Before I call Deputy Gerry Adams, I remind Deputies of Standing Order 42 which applies to supplementary questions which may be put only for the further elucidation of the information requested and shall be subject to the ruling of the Ceann Comhairle, both as to relevance and number. I say this because I do not wish to have to interfere with Members as they speak. I ask Deputies to understand that at Question Time I am trying to ensure Members' questions are reached. Members often wait to put questions, but they are not reached because we do not deal with enough questions. A supplementary question should be for the purpose of further elucidation of the information requested.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Dúirt an Taoiseach i rith fheachtas an olltoghcháin go mbeadh an Rialtas oscailte, le polasaithe macánta. B'shin fhocal a bhí go mór i mbéal an Taoisigh. I appreciate that he is trying to introduce new procedures. In the interests of transparency, can he tell us what the appointment procedures are for political advisers? He said their salaries were being finalised. However, could we be given, especially at this time when there are such impositions on working citizens, some sense of the salaries and benefits being given to advisers? Will the Taoiseach consider appointing a Minister, with no extra pay, with responsibility for developing policy and engaging with the political institutions in the Six Counties?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I have responsibility for Northern Ireland matters, working with the Tánaiste and the Northern Ireland section of the Department. There is very strong co-ordination of activity and interaction with the political parties and representatives from the North. I spoke to the First Minister, Mr. Peter Robinson, and the Deputy First Minister, Mr. Martin McGuinness, in the last two days and we have arranged for the North-South Ministerial Council to meet in June, to which I look forward. There will be much interaction on issues of an all-island and cross-Border nature which will be discussed at the Council.

The process of appointing advisers has been well laid out. Those who are appointed as advisers must work with whatever Minister is in situ. The same is true of my own responsibility as Taoiseach. The salaries, when finalised, will be published, as all these things are. The cost of the advisory service to me will be approximately 20% lower than that of my predecessor.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate, acknowledge and commend the work done by officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Taoiseach's Department. Other Departments under successive Governments have also had to deal with the Six Counties. However, as someone who comes from there, with many others in the State, I find it offensive that this matter comes within the remit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as if it was a foreign place. Much wonderful work could be done, not least on the economy but also in building harmony, good relationships and neighbourliness, if there was a dedicated Minister. I ask the Taoiseach to consider the appointment of such a person who would top up the work being done by other Ministers. This is one of our most important issues and there is a lot of unfinished business to be done. I commend this approach to the Taoiseach.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy can be assured that the politics and the development of the economy on the island and our communities will have my personal attention and that of the Tánaiste. We will see to it that there is a high level of activity and interaction, as there always has been and which I supported from an Opposition point of view for many years.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Questions Nos. 2 and 3 were submitted by me. There is no issue, from my perspective, with the employment of special advisers. It is only in this country that the notion has developed that there is something wrong with Ministers having staff who are independent of the Civil Service. Even in the Northern Ireland Executive, Ministers have political advisers. Equally, if we want people with ability, we need to pay them, at least in line with the officials with whom they work. It was a pity that Opposition parties in the last Dáil sought to make cheap headlines on these issues, although they knew that if they were in government, they would have to employ political advisers too. For example, two months ago the Government website and the Government Information Services were called sinister propaganda organs whereas, today, they are fine.

In terms of the policy responsibilities of the advisers, it was a very successful policy of the Taoiseach's predecessors to give one adviser special responsibility for Northern Ireland, which helped to provide an essential route for groups to make contact at political level. From my own time in the Department of Foreign Affairs, I am acutely aware of how this was effective in building bridges between different political groupings and traditions in the North and between North and South.

In his reply, the Taoiseach referred to Mr. Mark Kennelly having this role, along with other duties. Will he clarify this and perhaps be more specific in terms of whether Mr. Kennelly will be specifically responsible in the advisory role for developing such links and advising the Taoiseach on Northern Ireland issues?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Yes. In his capacity as chief of staff, he will be the main link person working with the Northern Ireland division in respect of Northern Ireland affairs.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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He will have many other responsibilities as well if he is chief of staff.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Yes, he will.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Would it be preferable that the Taoiseach has a specialist adviser in regard to the situation in Northern Ireland to work exclusively on the agenda of the significant work that lies ahead in embedding the peace process and in advancing the North-South agenda in terms of linkages with communities and in particular the social and economic advancement of conditions of the people of the island of Ireland? To be frank, there is a need to have someone within the Department of the Taoiseach devoted full-time and exclusively to working on that agenda.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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In the past, when times were very difficult, several people were appointed, including specialists in that area, as the Deputy is aware. The normalisation of relations is very good for the development of the economies and our intention of moving those agendas forward. I also want to pursue the North-South Ministerial Council activities, and the body that will be under the aegis of the Ceann Comhairle and the new Speaker of the Assembly will take some of the burden in that regard. While the person named is obviously busy, it is well within his compass to keep the Northern Ireland issue to the forefront, and I will ensure this happens.