Written answers

Tuesday, 7 November 2017

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Departmental Staff Data

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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1115. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the names of the special advisers employed in her Department; the names of special advisers to junior Ministers in her 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 which they were appointed to; 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 she will make a statement on the matter. [46462/17]

Photo of Katherine ZapponeKatherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The names and annual salaries of my Special Advisers are set out below. These appointments and the remuneration applied were made in accordance with the Instructions for Ministerial Appointments as published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in June 2016.

NameSalary
Patricia Ryan€91,716
Jerry O'Connor€91,716

There are no junior Ministers appointed to my Department.

As I retained my ministerial appointment to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs following the June 2017 Government appointments, both of my Special Advisers were re-appointed to the positions they held immediately prior to then.

The Government Order (SI No 419 of 2017) which was signed on the 6th September 2017 gave effect to these appointments from 14th June 2017 and my Special Advisers continued to receive their salaries to the date that the Order was signed.

On the basis of legal advice provided to me, I am satisfied that it is both permissible and common to apply statutory provisions of this nature retrospectively and that therefore there is no legal obstacle. Accordingly, it was in order that my Special Advisers continued to be paid to the time the Order was signed.

Throughout this period, my Special Advisors functioned as they do now and they continued to be subject to the Official Secrets Act 1963.

All of my Special Advisors have been appointed since the Government appointments of June 2017.

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