There is no direct link between the pay and duties of Special Advisers and that of members of the Oireachtas. Elected members of the Dáil are on a single rate of pay equivalent to the maximum point of the incremental scale applicable to the Principal Officer standard scale. The pay for Special Advisers is based on the Principal Officer standard scale of the civil service. This was deemed by the Government to be the appropriate pay level for Special Advisers.
The Guidelines on the Staffing of Ministerial Offices recommend that appointment as Special Adviser be at the minimum of the scale (€80,051), but exceptions have been made where there has been evidence of higher earnings in the previous employment and where a business case was made to secure the appointment of an individual with particular skills and expertise. The Principal Officer standard scale is an incremental scale and the Guidelines provide that where a Special Adviser is placed on a salary point below the maximum of the scale he or she may be paid an annual increment until the maximum of that scale is reached.
