Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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698. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of political staff working in his Department, including the role and salary of each staff member. [45793/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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​There are ten non civil service staff employed in my office and that of Minister of State Michael Ring.

In my Departmental duties and responsibilities I am aided by two Special Advisors whose salary scale is €79,401 to €91, 624 per annum (PPC - Personal Pension Contribution) and €75,647 to €87,258 per annum (non-PPC).  Minister of State Ring has one Advisor who provides his service free of charge.

Both Minister of State Ring and I each have a personal secretary and a personal assistant who work on constituency matters.  The salary scale for a personal secretary is €456.50 to €915.20 per week and for a personal assistant is €43,715 to €56,060 per annum.  Furthermore, each of us has two civilian drivers.  The salary for a civilian driver is €631.75 per week. 

All these staff are employed in line with Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines on the staffing of Minister and Minister of State's offices.