Junior ministerial staff cost taxpayers €8m per year

THE Government was accused of having a “warped sense of priorities” after new figures show private and constituency staff of the 20 junior ministers continue to cost taxpayers more than €8 million yearly.

The ministers of state have a total of 187 back-up staff, including their private and constituency offices, which are staffed by civil servants, political advisers and press officers.

More than a quarter of the staff costs relate to the Department of Health, where the four junior ministers employ a total of 42 staff at a cost of €2.25m.

The number of junior ministers has doubled since the 1970s, with the latest increase — from 17 to 20 — introduced by former taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

Fine Gael has again called for a cut in the number of junior posts, which have a salary of around €140,000.

FG’s John O’Mahony said “It is abundantly clear that the Government targets the wrong people for spending cuts and its warped sense of priorities means it wastes taxpayers’ money supporting a multitude of junior ministers when the weakest and most vulnerable in our society have to suffer the impact of a harsh budget,” he said.

The 24 backup staff for junior ministers at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, cost almost €1m per year.

Minister with Responsibility for Older People, Máire Hoctor has 11 backup staff, costing €567,000.

Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche has 13 private staff, including four in his Wicklow constituency office, costing €636,400.

Integration Minister Conor Lenihan has ten staff, five in his private office and five in his constituency, at a total cost of €297,261.

There were traditionally seven junior ministers in Government until an increase to ten in 1977.