Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 July 2013
684. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will provide, in tabular form, the annual saving to the Exchequer if all his special advisors' pay was capped at the first point of the principal officer grade; if he will provide a list of all salaries, post-implementation of the Haddington Road Agreement paid to his special advisors. [34619/13]
View answerAs I have previously advised the House, I appointed Mr. James Kenny and Mr. Damien Garvey as my special advisers with effect from 7 June 2011 and 2 April 2012, respectively.
Both were appointed at the first point of the Principal Officer standard scale, in accordance with the Guidelines on the staffing of Ministers' Offices. Mr. Kenny and Mr. Garvey are on the third and second points of that scale, respectively.
The annual saving to this Department if a pay cap were to be applied to their salaries is as set out in the following table.
|
Special Advisor |
Current salary – post implementation of the Haddington Road Agreement |
Salary - if pay capped at the first point of the principal officer standard scale |
Annual saving to the Exchequer if pay cap applied to special advisors' pay |
|
James Kenny* |
€42,941 |
€36,912 |
€6,029 |
|
Damien Garvey |
€78,670 |
€75,647 |
€3,023 |
|
Annual Saving |
€9,052 |
*As Mr. Kenny is in receipt of a public service pension of €38,735, his current salary, post-implementation of the Haddington Road Agreement, of €81,676 has been abated to €42,941 per annum.
