Vol. 463 No. 3
165 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht if he or the Minister(s) of State at his Department have directed any of the staff employed in the departmental constituency office to work directly in the local constituency clinic; if so, if this practice is in the public interest; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6493/96]
My personal secretary, who is not an established Civil Servant, is employed on a contract basis to deal specifically with constituency matters, including working in my constituency clinic each Saturday. This individual is permanently based in Galway.
The Deputy will I am sure appreciate that it is both efficient and practical to have my personal secretary based in my constituency.
The Minister of State at my Department does not have a constituency in my Department.
