Special adviser appointments
Deputy Doherty questioned the legality of retrospective backdating of special adviser appointments and whether advisers had access to confidential information. The Taoiseach said he believed normal procedures had been followed and explained the arrangements as part of ministerial transfers.
I want to raise the issue of the appointment of special advisers by the Government, particularly by the Taoiseach, who signs all of these orders. Under the Public Service Management Act 1997, the lawful power to appoint special advisers exists in section 11. It has to be done on foot of a Government order and that order takes the form of a statutory instrument which the Taoiseach signs. The issue that arises is that in more than two dozen of those cases, not only did the Taoiseach appoint the special advisers but he backdated their appointment, in some cases by 12 weeks. In the case of all six of his own special advisers, he backdated their appointment.
Where is the lawful power to backdate the appointment of a special adviser?
When the finance committee raised this issue, on my insistence, with the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, the private secretary replied and said that the Department was seeking advice from the Attorney General's office on whether the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2007 granted the power to make such orders with retrospective effect.
Comment on this
Was the Taoiseach sure that he had the lawful power to appoint those two dozen special advisers retrospectively? Did they have access to confidential information? Did they sign the Official Secrets Act?
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Did they draw down wages during that period?
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I do not know the details of the law in this area, but I can assure the Deputy that whatever procedures have been followed for the past ten or 20 years were followed in these cases as well. What happens is that, when a Minister moves from one Department to another, technically his or her special adviser becomes unemployed as a result of the fact-----
Comment on this
Legally, almost all of his or her staff become unemployed because the Minister has been moved to another Department. It is the normal process that those people are not just told to be unemployed. They are treated as people should be treated and moved into the next Department with the Minister. Arrangements are made within a few weeks to normalise that.