Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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157. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide a schedule of all special advisors that are, or were, attached to her, to include Ministers of State special advisors, by grade, duration of role held and point on the pay scale. [38359/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The information sought by the Deputy is set out in the attached table for special advisers employed by my Department.

There are also two Ministers of State appointed to my Department. Hildegarde Naughton T.D., Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion in my Department and of the Department of An Taoiseach has two special advisers, Paul Melia and Denise Duffy, who are employed by that Department.

Thomas Byrne T.D., Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education and of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has a special adviser, Daniel Griffin, who is employed by that Department.

The salary scale for Special Advisers to a Minister is the same as the Civil Service Principal Officer pay scale and the pay scale for a Special Adviser to a Minister of State is equivalent to the Assistant Principal Officer pay scale, as advised under the terms of the relevant pay circulars and the Guidelines for Ministerial Appointments issued by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP, Delivery and Reform. In the event that an appointee is a retired Civil Servant, pension abatement rules apply.

* Details relate to term as a Special Adviser, currently serving civil servant