Bruton denies tension over breach of pay cap

JOBS Minister Richard Bruton has denied any tension between the Coalition partners over the breach of a pay cap for his adviser, Ciaran Conlon.

Mr Bruton said his adviser is a man of “exceptional talent” and it was “always envisaged that guidelines would be breached” in such circumstances.

He was responding to fresh revelations that Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin had argued against the awarding of a €127,000 salary to the former head of the Fine Gael press office when he took up the position as special adviser. Mr Howlin claimed there was “no rationale” for breaching the €92,000 pay cap and the rate proposed was “rather high”.

However, Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Mr Bruton insisted on the pay level.

“There’s no tensions whatsoever,” Mr Bruton said yesterday when asked if the salary had caused a rift at Cabinet.

In cases of exceptional talent, skill or experience or where “previous pay necessitated it”, it was “always envisaged that guidelines would be breached.”

Mr Conlon, he said, has “a very important role in the driving of employment policy in this country”.

Meanwhile, Mr Howlin was urged to explain why Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Stefan Gerlach has been awarded a salary of €250,000, in breach of the €200,000 pay cap.

Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald said: “This is the umpteenth time Labour and Fine Gael have broken the pay ceiling for a high flyer paid by the public purse, but what really adds insult to injury is the Government’s mantra that these people are paid big bucks simply ‘because they’re worth it’.”