Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 450: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the names, titles, dates of appointment, total annual salary, including pension contributions, of each of the special or political advisers, personal assistants or personal secretaries appointed by him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22547/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Since I took up office, I have appointed on a contract basis for my term of office a special adviser, Mr. Frank Lahiffe, a press adviser, Mr. Tom Rowley, a personal secretary, Ms Mary Browne, and a personal assistant, Mr. Bobby Holland. The above named staff were appointed on 30 September 2004. The salaries for these staff are as follows. Special adviser €87,247, which is the principal officer standard scale, press adviser €93,599, which is the principal officer higher scale and personal secretary €38,880. My personal assistant is on secondment from the Department of Education and Science. That Department will recoup from my Department on an annual basis the cost of a replacement teacher's salary, allowances, PRSI contributions and superannuation contributions. This will be approximately €31,800.

My special adviser and my personal secretary are members of the non-established State employees pension scheme. My personal assistant is a member of the national school teachers superannuation scheme. This Department pays a private pension contribution of 9% of Mr. Rowley's salary. The Deputy should be aware that the number of political appointments made by me compares with 13 made by the Minister for Social Welfare in 1992-97, which included four for the Minister of State in the same period. There is now no Minister of State attached to my Department.