Vol. 426 No. 6
72 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Finance whether any instruction has been issued to the Tánaiste, Ministers and Ministers of State on the total number of special advisers, private secretaries and assistants, personal assistants, public relations officers, constituency employees or other workers in their private Ministerial offices; the total number of such people employed, including in his own office; and the total annual cost to the Exchequer of these jobs.
Guidelines on the employment of the categories of staff mentioned by the Deputy have been brought to the attention of all Ministers and Ministers of State. The guidelines in relation to special advisers, personal assistants, personal secretaries and programme managers are as set out by me in replies on the 10th of this month.
The guidelines also provide that the total number of staff in a Minister's private office may not exceed ten and the number in a Minister's constituency office may not exceed seven. For Ministers of State the guidelines permit a private office staff of six, or a total of nine for a Minister of State assigned to more than one Department, and a constituency office staff of 5.
While the guidelines provide a ceiling on the number and categories of staff which officeholders may employ, it is for each of them to decide whether they require the full permitted complement of such staff. The cost of such staff will vary from office to office in line with the numbers employed and with the salary paid to each individual. Questions on the detailed arrangements and costings are appropriate to individual Ministers.
