Special advisory pay - Time to end salary cap breaches

Besides indulging in semantics, Fine Gael is defending the indefensible in the latest row over six-figure pay cheques for experts.

Perception is everything in politics, and when it comes to breaking the rules, there is a growing public perception that ministers of the Fine Gael-Labour Coalition are every bit as venal as their counterparts in the previous administration.

Call them what you will — special advisers, spin doctors, ministerial aides, backroom officials — the reality is that ministers are doling out exorbitant salaries when they decide to hire people with special expertise. This they have done repeatedly since coming to power. And invariably, the contractual salaries have mirrored the customary excesses of the last government.