Golden circle: pay of top Government advisers revealed

Government breaches of pay guidelines for Ministerial advisers showed a "cult of privilege" and a "golden circle" but austerity and further welfare cuts for lone parents, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has claimed.

He accused Taoiseach Enda Kenny of breaching his election promise and his “much vaunted” commitment to reform of the public system. “There is no austerity for your Government.”

But Mr Kenny said in the North advisers’ pay had increased from STG£90,000 to STG£110,000 and there had been no comment on that.

He also called on Mr Adams to explain how his party was the best funded party in the country and how it raised its funds, when “everybody else seems to have to own up and rightly so as to where these things come from”.

During leaders’ questions Mr Adams said Minister for Environment Alan Kelly’s adviser was receiving a salary of €85,750 to advise him on housing and Irish Water.

“Finance Minister Michael Noonan who wants to impose austerity on the people of Greece, sought to have an adviser paid €3,000 more than the Cabinet guideline and this was initially rejected,” he said.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said initially there was no compelling reason to sanction the increase “and yet five days later he sanctioned the increase”.

Minister for Communications Alex White had an adviser put on a salary of €91,624 which was €12,000 higher than the salary originally offered.

Minister for Agriculture and Defence Simon Coveney got a €25,000 salary increase last July for an adviser.

Mr Adams called on the Taoiseach to “give the Dáil the compelling reason for this”.

Mr Kenny said: “Minister for Public Expenditure received claims for increases in salaries from a number of people in different Ministries and the Minister has ruled on them based on their experience and their competence.

“In respect of claims made by Ministers many were rejected for the levels that were sought and were ruled upon by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.”

Mr Adams said the Taoiseach was paid more than the president of France which had a population of 64 million, while the Tánaiste’s chief of staff “gets a salary of €144,550 which is nearly as much as you and nearly as much as the president of France”.

He added that her economic adviser is on €114,424 and “she sought to have a former pa put on a salary of €79,401 and eventually settled for €75,000”.

Mr Adams said the Tánaiste should negotiate “as strongly for all citizens in difficulty particularly those lone parent families”.

“Because when she lobbied for these extravagant pay hikes for her advisers she does plan to lower the cut-off age for one parent families.”

Mr Kenny defended the reforms and said they were “being used to get people off dependence on social protection and give them the opportunity to achieve financial independence by getting a job that pays”.

He called on the Sinn Féin leader to “answer the questions that I understand have been levelled about your party and the way it raises money.

“It’s interesting to know that you’re now by far and away the best resourced party in the country,” Mr Kenny said.

“Everybody else seems to have to own up and rightly so as to where these things come from.”

He said the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform “has ruled on the level appropriate for claims for increases and he shot down most of those”.

He added: “They do a very important job in the sense of the programme for government being implemented.”