Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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1411. To ask the Minister for Health the number of special advisers that will be hired by his Department. [22773/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has issued guidelines to each Government Department setting out the arrangements for the staffing of Ministerial Offices. The appointment of Special Advisers is subject to section 11 of the Public Service Management Act 1997.

The appointment of individual Special Advisers is a matter for each Government Minister subject to the terms set out in the aforementioned guidelines, although the appointments are also subject to formal Government approval. At this stage, no Special Advisers have been formally appointed to my Department by the Government.

However, the Deputy may wish to note that I have assigned one person to work with me as Special Adviser and another person to work with me as a Press and Communications Adviser and these persons will be formally appointed by the Government in the near future.