Humphreys gets garda protection drivers amid pay-off row
Heather Humphreys has become the eighth minister to get a garda driver despite the practice being paused while the severance issues regarding previous civilian drivers are being sorted out. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins
A stop on Cabinet ministers getting Garda drivers has been ordered but only after Heather Humphreys was able to avail of the perk this weekend.
Ms Humphreys, the social protection minister, is the eighth member of Cabinet to have garda protection officers assigned to her, on foot of a security review by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, the can reveal.
It is understood the granting of drivers to Ms Humphreys is not linked to UVF bomb threat in Belfast on Friday, which saw Foreign Minister Simon Coveney whisked off stage at an event.
It had been planned that the entire Cabinet and three super junior ministers who sit at Cabinet would see their civilian driver detail replaced with garda drivers. However, it can be revealed that those plans are now on hold because of an ongoing row over severance payments for those drivers being let go.
The understands that on foot of an order from Martin Fraser, Secretary General to the Department of the Taoiseach, the remaining appointments of garda drivers is “on hold”.
Ms Humphreys informed her civilian drivers last week that their services were no longer required on foot of this decision.
It comes in the wake of the decision to grant garda protection to ministers Paschal Donohoe, Michael McGrath, and Stephen Donnelly in late December.
However, the move to replace their drivers has led to a considerable headache for the Government as their civilian drivers remain on the payroll, amid a standoff on severance arrangements.
As they were hired on the basis of being “co-terminus” with their minister, there was no provision in their contract to let them go in this circumstance and there was no mechanism to end their employment.
It is understood a number of the civilian drivers have been asked to take up administrative roles in the Department of Social Protection, pending the outcome of the severance talks.
As a result of the move, eight of the 15 senior ministers who sit at the Cabinet now have garda protection details. They are Ms Humphreys, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Justice Minister Helen McEntee, Mr Coveney, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath, and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
When contacted, the Department of Justice said it cannot comment on security matters. There was no response to attempts to contact Ms Humphreys and her office in relation to this matter.
The cost of the ministerial pool of drivers is about €2.5m a year, which includes wages, expenses, allowances, and maintenance. It was running closer to €6m a year when all senior ministers had a garda driver.
The ministerial pool at that stage amounted to 77 full-time drivers plus a number of standby personnel.
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