Brendan Howlin
Question:4. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Taoiseach the supports provided by his Department to Ministers of State. [21241/18]
View answerWednesday, 23 May 2018
Questions (4, 5, 6)
Joan Burton
Question:5. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Taoiseach the supports his Department provides to Independent Ministers and Deputies who support the Government. [21439/18]
View answerBrendan Howlin
Question:6. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the supports provided to Independent Ministers and supporters of the Government from his Department. [22707/18]
View answerOral answers (19 contributions)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive, together.
My Department, as outlined in the strategy statement, provides support services for the Taoiseach and the Government, including the independent Members of Government, through the Government secretariat, the parliamentary liaison unit, the programme for Government office and the Cabinet committee structure to ensure that Government business is managed to the highest standards. The chief strategist for the Independent Alliance and the political co-ordinator for the independent Ministers in Government are also based in my Department.
The business of the Government is co-ordinated by the Government secretariat. This includes the preparation of the Cabinet agenda, the circulation of papers and the communication of the Government's decisions to the relevant Ministers and Departments.
The parliamentary liaison unit was established to help ensure that Ministers and Government Deputies are properly informed of new responsibilities and procedures in the Thirty-second Dáil. The unit provides support to Ministers and their Departments on Oireachtas matters with a particular emphasis on assisting Departments with Private Members' business. In performing this function the unit liaises on a regular basis with advisers to the Independent members of Government to ensure they are informed of Oireachtas issues and to assist them in engaging with the new processes arising from Dáil reform. In this regard the parliamentary liaison unit provides detailed information on upcoming matters in the Dáil and Seanad and highlights any new Oireachtas reform issues.
The programme for Government office provides assistance to Government in delivering on its ambitious programme of work through monitoring the implementation of the commitments contained in the programme for Government across all Departments. The office prepares progress reports and an annual report setting out progress made across all of Government in implementing the commitments in the programme. The Cabinet committee system, which is an important part of the machinery of Government and a core part of the work of the Department, provides a whole-of-Government, co-ordinated approach to issues as necessary. The scope of the Cabinet committee system encompasses the Government's national priorities and the challenges Ireland faces in the coming years.
The Government press secretary acts as a spokesperson for the Taoiseach and the Government and he is supported by the press office in his role of co-ordinating the media relations of all Departments. The deputy press secretary is also based in my Department and she is tasked with co-ordinating communications for all the Independents in government. My Department continues to adapt and strengthen these supports to ensure they are fully responsive to the requirements arising from Dáil reform and to support effective minority government arrangements.
The Taoiseach said one intriguing thing there. Does the Minister, Deputy Ross, as the lead Minister with the Independent Alliance get notification and copies of all Cabinet memos and all memos to the Government in advance, as would be the norm with a minority party in government that had a Tánaiste for instance? Can the Taoiseach confirm if he gets advance copies of all the memos, not just the normal notification that Ministers in the Government get?
Second, is the Taoiseach thinking of appointing a new deputy Government Whip and can he elaborate on the deal which was done with Deputy Canney? There are a large number of Ministers of State now. The Taoiseach expanded the number of Ministers of State hugely, almost to Bertie Ahern proportions at the last count. A large number of them now have special advisers, due in part to those who are also attending Government. It is the highest ever in the history of the State. We have four now who do not have advisers, so why do some Ministers of State get advisers and others do not? For instance, the Ministers of State, Deputies Jim Daly, D'Arcy, McEntee, Moran and Halligan, all have advisers, so that would be a cost of roughly €500,000 a year to taxpayers. That is on top of the four Ministers of State who attend Cabinet and their advisers would similarly cost probably another €500,000.
Does the Department of the Taoiseach provide supports to Deputies Harty and Lowry? Deputy Lowry in particular always seems to be very well informed of what is happening in terms of Cabinet and Cabinet decisions.
I am particularly interested in the question as it relates to the supports provided by the Taoiseach's Department to Ministers of State. The unseemly row between the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, and Deputy Canney did not reflect well on the Government. The image of two individuals tossing a coin at the commencement of the Government to decide who would be Minister of State for one year and who would be Minister of State for the next year and then having a row as to who would be Minister of State for the third year did not reflect well on the Government and should never have been part of the process of appointing Ministers of State in my view. The Taoiseach might outline what supports were provided by him to resolve that dispute. He might also outline if the role of the Minister, Deputy Ross, extends to the Rural Alliance and others because it is very noticeable from time to time in different votes that there are surprising outcomes in terms of support levels. The suspicion remains that deals are being done behind the scenes or accommodations are being arrived at that are not known in the public domain.
I have a later question, No. 11, which does not come within the compass of this reply, but does the Minister, Deputy Ross, have an unofficial role in reaching out to some Independents beyond his own immediate group and are certain people in the know? It is accepted that Deputy Lowry is. I agree with Deputy Burton, there is no doubt but that Deputy Lowry is in the loop in terms of Government actions, proposals and announcements and he gets tipped off regularly in advance of other Deputies in Tipperary. That is as a result of a mental telepathy between the Government and Deputy Lowry. I accept what both sides have said that there is no arrangement whatsoever but that they work on a telepathic basis and they have an intuitive understanding that is reciprocated on a regular basis.
I am interested in Deputy Micheál Martin's observation on the issue of support for Government and people getting tipped off. Perhaps he did not look for enough when he was doing the deal.
Sinn Féin is clearly doing very well at the moment.
The programme for Government contains a number of commitments on political reform. This includes Ministers of State playing a more substantive role in policy formation, re-examination of their function within departmental structures and their relationship with Cabinet Ministers. This has not happened to my knowledge but the Taoiseach might enlighten us on what work is happening in this respect. The Department of the Taoiseach has four Ministers of State attached to it. The Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, works as Government Whip and the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, is in European affairs. I ask the Taoiseach, in terms of the responsibilities within the Department of the Taoiseach as opposed to their role in other Departments, what the Ministers of State, Deputies Kehoe and Breen, undertake that is specific to the Department of the Taoiseach?
The current practice is that all Ministers get advance copies of memos. They are put on eCabinet or provided in writing in advance. The exception is if a memo is secret and on occasion there are secret memos or a memo that is commercially sensitive, for example, an IDA grant or contract that is brought to the table or brought underarm as people describe it. That is done on a case-by-case basis. No Minister in the Cabinet has any special entitlement to see things early in a way that would happen in a coalition Government with the leader of the other party. That is not the arrangement. All Ministers get all memos with the exception of a small number that are secret or commercial and a decision is made on a case-by-case basis as to which Ministers may need advance notice and that depends on their individual briefs and responsibilities.
As Deputy Canney has resigned as Government assistant Whip, I will appoint a replacement in early course. I just have not had a chance to think about that as of yet.
Deputy Mattie McGrath?
In the meantime, the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, is taking on the role of de-facto Whip of the Independent Alliance and he is now representing the Independent Alliance on the Business Committee. Previously that function had been carried out by Deputy Canney. There is no written or formal agreement with Deputy Canney but he is continuing to support the Government and we assist him as best we can on a case-by-case basis, as is the case with other Independent Members who support the Government.
When it comes to advisers for Ministers of State, that is also done on a case-by-case basis. The Minister of State has to make a request. That request is then considered by me and the Minister for Finance and is approved, if warranted. In some cases, Ministers of State are managing very large budgets. The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, has a budget of over €1 billion, for example. People can see the level of demand that is on his time. While it gets a lot of criticism, in general the adviser system works well in the Government and it is important to have that intermediary between Ministers and the Civil Service for lots of different reasons.
Deputy Harty is assisted by the Government through the political co-ordinator of the Independent Ministers, that is, Deputies Naughten and Zappone. Deputy Harty is part of that group and-----
Is he not in the Rural Alliance?
He is. He has a relationship with the Ministers, Deputies Naughten and Zappone-----
That explains a lot so.
-----as part of that arrangement.
Is that how the Government roped in the Rural Alliance then? Deputy Mattie McGrath denies anything like that.
I do not think anybody could describe the members of that group as having been roped into the Government. They almost all vote against us. They are Independents and they take different views on things.
It is a very effective conduit, clearly, from the Rural Alliance to the heart of the Government.
It is important there would always be lines of communication between the Government and different groups in the Parliament. As the Deputy knows, there is a very strong line of communication between the Government and Fianna Fáil.
I do not disagree but there is a contrast between the rhetoric we hear and the reality behind the scenes. It is very interesting.
The Minister of State with responsibility for defence, Deputy Kehoe, has a role in my Department. I have delegated almost all functions relating to defence to him. The role of the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, within the Department relates to data protection.
Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.