Highly paid ministerial advisers capable of ‘exceptional’ lapses

THERE are not too many bosses who would pay the staff more than themselves, but then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is a rare one. In more senses than one.

And his programme manager, Gerry Hickey, is a lucky man. At almost €200,000 a year - €192,784, to be precise - he’s on a bigger salary than his boss.

What’s more, he’s literally a man in a hundred because he’s also the highest paid of the other 99 advisers the Government will pay €6 million from taxpayers’ money this year.