Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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1042. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the names of the special advisers employed in his Department; the names of special advisers to junior Ministers in his Department; the annual salary of each adviser; if these persons were special advisers immediately prior to taking up their current role or immediately prior to the June 2017 Cabinet reshuffle; if so, the Minister to whom they were appointed; the date each special adviser was appointed with effect as stated in the Government order; the date of the Government order; if they received a salary for the period before the appointment order was signed in the case of special advisers whose appointment order date has an effect date earlier than the order date; if so, by whom they were paid; if a special adviser during a period later backdated by appointment order had access to confidential material and-or Cabinet papers; if they were subject to the Official Secrets Act 1963 during this period; if any persons currently employed as special advisers have not yet been appointed by order since the Cabinet reshuffle of 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46476/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I appointed two Special Advisers when I took up office as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.  Following the Cabinet reshuffle in June 2017, I reappointed Aisling Dunne and Carol Hunt as my Special Advisers.  The Government Order dated 26th July 2017 re-appointed them with effect from 15th June 2017. Their current salary scale is €81,767 to €100,333 per annum, which is in line with Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines on the staffing of Minister's Offices.

As both officers were reappointed to the roles previously held, they remained on the payroll between the effective date of their reappointment and the date of the Government Order and were subject to the Official Secrets Act 1963 during this period.

Minister of State Griffin has no Special Advisers appointed to him.