Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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791. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of special advisers that will be hired by her Department. [22781/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The appointment of Special Advisors is as provided under Section 11 of the Public Service Management Act 1997.

Guidelines for the Appointment of Ministerial Staff of the 33rd Dáil, including the relevant terms and conditions of appointment of Special Advisers, were approved by Government on 4th August 2020 and have been published by the Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform on the gov.ie website.

Under these guidelines, my Department may appoint up to two Special Advisors. I intend to appoint one advisor in the Department of Social Protection and their formal appointment is presently subject to the approval of Government and the signature of contracts. In line with the decision of Government, once the formal appointment of all Special Advisors to the 33^rdDáil has fully concluded, details of all Special Advisors appointed to the 33rd Dáil, including their rates of pay, will be published by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform as has been the practice of recent Governments.