Vol. 480 No. 7
1 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach the special procedures, if any, he has put in place in his Department for dealing with inquiries or representations from any Independent Members of Dáil Éireann; the Members entitled to avail of such facilities; the numbers of staff in his Department engaged in such work; the cost involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14635/97]
2 Mr. Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will give details of the special unit in his Department which has been created to look after the needs of a number of Independent Deputies; and the size and cost of this unit. [14674/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. There are no special procedures and there is no special unit in place to deal with inquiries from Independent Members of Dáil Éireann. Three Independent Members of the Dáil who support the Government have requirements and needs from time to time. A higher executive officer, attached to the Taoiseach's Office, has been designated as the liaison person for these three Deputies. The officer also assists the Chief Whip in his dealings with all Independent Deputies in the Dáil as well as fulfilling other duties in the Taoiseach's Office. There are no costs involved other than the salary of the officer concerned.
Is there a civil servant at higher executive officer level whose sole job is to mind three Independent Deputies? Does this mean that every Jackie, Mildred and Harry who comes into the Dáil now will have a civil servant assigned to them? Why draw a distinction between any three Deputies and the rest of the Members?
So much for the Technical Group.
Deputy Rabbitte need not worry. It is not this person's only job and he has not had much contact with those Members over the past few months. He fulfils many other useful roles in the Whip's office which take up most of his time. He liaises with other Independent Deputies also. This is a system I used 15 years ago to good effect when I was Chief Whip for nine months. If people supporting the Government at any level have issues they wish to raise, I know what is happening as the matter goes through one person. That is the benefit.
Can the Taoiseach justify the reason a civil servant has to look after three Independent Deputies who have stated in the House that they will support the Government on certain conditions? This appears to be a selective exercise as certain individuals get special attention while others are left on their own. What sort of requirements do individual Deputies have that need to be looked after by a higher executive officer? If this person is also attached to the Whip's office, is he the official Whip for those three Deputies and will he be reprimanded if one of them does not turn up for a vote? What is the purpose of his attachment to the Whip's office? Surely the Government Chief Whip has the job of looking after numbers necessary to keep the Government in power. What sort of penalties will be imposed on this unfortunate civil servant if someone is late for a vote on the Order of Business? Will he be reprimanded by the Taoiseach or the Chief Whip?
There will be yellow cards and red cards.
What are the requirements of individual Deputies that this civil servant will look after? Will he have to get rail tickets, taxis or make representations?
All-Ireland tickets.
I forgot those.
We have some important questions I wish to answer. The person involved has no responsibilities for whipping. He liaises with Independent Deputies and so I do not have to spend my time meeting people. He works in the Whip's office and does the normal work of that office. Our Whip, unlike that of the last Government, does not have a costly adviser. We have tried to use advisers from within the Civil Service.
The Taoiseach has not answered my question about the requirements.
There are no requirements. He does his job.
The Taoiseach mentioned the requirements of individual Deputies.
He is a liaison person.
The Taoiseach said he dealt with certain requirements.
Such as meetings, for example.
We should probably welcome the news that this civil servant has no responsibility for whipping. Is the Taoiseach saying that the other Independent Deputies have equal access to this person? What about Government backbenchers? Are they allocated in groups of three to another higher executive officer? This is not a trivial matter.
I am glad to see the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs is present, as I saw him speeding Deputy Healy-Rae to the railway station the other day, which is the kind of humanitarian gesture all of us would make.
The Deputy will have to withdraw the allegation about speeding.
Is this a regular arrangement? Is the transport arranged by the higher executive officer? If so, who is driving Mildred and Harry?
(Dublin West): The Taoiseach has stated that this is a civil servant paid by the State. Will that civil servant be available to other Deputies, those who do not qualify under Standing Orders as a group in the Dáil? Will access to the Taoiseach's office be available through the same person?
Yes. He is assisting the Whip with matters relating to Independent Members. There is a bureaucracy in place across other Departments and agencies to deal with other Members. Any time Deputy Higgins needs to raise an issue and I am not available, this person will be available.
(Dublin West): Is this on condition that I support the Government?
That is certainly not the case with some of the Deputies ringing this person.
Is this person responsible for ensuring that the shopping list agreed by the Taoiseach and these individuals prior to the formation of the Government is implemented by the Ministers involved?
That is the job of the Ministers involved.
Since the Taoiseach supported the Strategic Management Initiative, does he feel the work being given to this civil servant is productive and what was understood by the Secretary of the Department, Mr. Teahon, when he drew up this initiative?
The individual involved has a very productive job in assisting the Chief Whip. I am glad to see it is being done by a member of the Civil Service and not some outside guru.
What is an "outside guru"?
The Taoiseach is very flippant on this question. When in Opposition, he rightly questioned the then Government on expenditure. Deputy Callely also had a great interest in what people were doing in Government. It is not good enough ——
The Deputy is reading previous answers.
——to be flippant about allocating a higher executive officer to look after three Deputies. When we ask what precisely this person must do to keep the three Deputies happy, the Taoiseach seems to take exception to outlining clearly to us what exactly that is. It is only right and proper that a senior executive officer of the Civil Service, paid for by the State, should know exactly what is expected of him and should be answerable to this House in terms of what has been agreed and what has not.
If Deputy Barrett was serious, I would be too. The civil servant in question is assigned to duties assisting the Whip and, as part of those responsibilities, when correspondence or calls come through from Independent Deputies for me or concerning meetings with me or other Ministers he deals with them.
He must ensure the shopping list is seen to.
The individual was part of the staff when my predecessors were in office; instead of dealing with all kinds of correspondence he is more directed towards this kind. When there is not work in that area, he deals with normal correspondence. That is the position.
He is an unestablished civil servant, the Deputy should note that we are making savings.
The person in question is an excellent official, we have no problem with him.
I appreciate the Deputy's comment.
These officials are much maligned by whispers in the corridor.
