The Junior Ministers scam
In 1977 there were only seven Junior Ministers, now there are 17. At least seven of these positions are non-jobs
Seven of 17 jobs of Ministers of State are non-jobs. Invented to create jobs for the boys and the girls at an annual cost to the public purse of €150,000 each, that is around €63,000 over and above their salary as TDs – an extra cost to the public of €441,000 per annum, plus their ministerial expenses and the expenses of their private offices, almost certainly coming to several million.
The non jobs are held at present by Mary Wallace – from no job to a non-job – Tim O'Malley, in the Department of Health and Children, Sean Power, also in the Department of Health and Children (why, when almost all of the executive functions in Health have been delegated to the Health Services Executive, do we need one senior minister and three Junior Ministers?), Síle de Valera in Education and Science, Pat The Cope Gallagher in Transport and Batt O'Keeffe in Environment, Heritage and Local Government. There must be doubts also over whether Conor Lenihan's job in the Department of Foreign Affairs is a full time one (Liz O'Donnell had that job for five years and combined it with several other responsibilities).
In a 1995 debate Charlie McCreevy said: "Many of the Ministers of State are virtually titular appointments involving little or any real power or administrative benefit. There is a good case to be made for reducing the number of such appointments. There is no case to be made for increasing that number. Any person who was a member of a Government in the recent past will agree with that." The PDs at the time enthusiastically agreed and promised to reduce the number of Junior Ministers.
Prior to 1977 Junior Ministers were known as Parliamentary Secretaries of which there were a mere seven. A huge phalanx of Fianna Fáil TDs were elected in that year and Jack Lynch's government obviously sought to placate as many as possible by creating more positions – the title was changed to Minister of state and the number was increased from seven to ten. There was actually justification for this at the time because the ministerial workload had increased substantially by Ireland's accession to the European Community in 1973, although the ministers of the Fine Gael-Labour government form 1973 to 1977 appeared to cope.
Then when Charlie Haughey was elected leader of Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach on the basis of a landslide vote from Fianna Fáil backbenchers (the cabinet voted by a majority of 13 to 2 in favour of his opponent, George Coley), he wanted to return the favour by appointing as many of his supporters as possible to state positions – hence the number of Ministers of State was increased from 10 to 15 in 1980.
Fine Gael protested but when it came into office the following year it did nothing to reduce the number. In fact the number of Ministers of State was increased yet again, this time by a Fine Gael Taoiseach, John Bruton, from 15 to 17 in 1995. Once more there was no administrative justification for this. It was done merely to resolve a political embarrassment arising from the failure to deliver on the position of Leas Ceann Comhairle to the then Clare deputy, Donal Carey. It was in the course of the debate on the Bill that increased the number of Ministers of State to 17 that Tom Kitt made the commitment on behalf of Fianna Fáil to cut the number once they returned to office. When Fianna Fáil did return to office in 1997 nothing was done. Seventeen Ministers of State were appointed.
Tom Kitt
Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and at the Department and the Department of Defence, government chief whip. This is a real job. He is responsible for the management of government business through the Oireachtas and also responsible for hand-holding the Fianna Fáil-gene-pool of Independent TDs, should they ever be needed in the event of the PDs abandoning the government. As chief whip he has the right of attendance at cabinet meetings and, depending on the person concerned and his/her relations with the Taoiseach of the day, he/she (it has always been "he") may contribute to debates in cabinet, even when not asked.
Noel Treacy
Minster of State at the Department of An Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs. Appointed in September 2004. Another real job, although less real when Ireland does not hold the EU Presidency. He attends many of the EU Council of Ministers meetings in place of the Minister for Foreign Affairs (the senior Foreign Affairs Minister is vastly overworked, being responsible for Northern Ireland affairs, EU affairs and international relations generally). Noel Treacy tried to become an MEP but otherwise showed no previous interest or aptitude for foreign or EU affairs.
Brain Lenihan
Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Department of Education and Science with special responsibility for Children. Appointed in June 2002. Another real job, effectively Minister for Children, running the newly-established Office of the Minister for Children set up quietly in December 2005. He is bright and less outrageously egotistical than his brother Conor, but neither are close to the calibre of their late father, Brian Lenihan, who behind a frivolous exterior had a reflective and shrews interior (the joke about him used to be: inside the shallow exterior is a shallow interior, which was unfair). Brian, Jnr, has handled his brief adroitly since the publication of the Ferns report but he was slow before that to institute the necessary protections for children throughout the public service arena; for instance the public awareness campaign on child sex abuse was announced only then, several years after it was first recommended.
Tim O'Malley
Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with special responsibility for Disability and Mental Health Services and Food Safety. First elected to the Dáil in 2002 and therefore with no ministerial experience, it was a testament to the priority which this Government attaches to the issue of mental health that this neophyte was given responsibility for it. For reasons not entirely his fault, he has been ineffective, having no independent political clout. He dutifully attends conferences (12 in the past year according to the Departmental web site) and does launches and occasions but not to much avail. Seems almost certain to lose his seat in Limerick East in the next election.
Sean Power
Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with special responsibility for Health Promotion, public health and services for older people. The Department of Health website shows he attended a conference, made a speech in the Dáil, welcomed some reports and launched an information booklet on Alzheimer's disease in 2005. But this seems like one of the jobs for the boys. No real job here at all.
Conor Lenihan
Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for Overseas Development Aid (ODA). His appointment was a complete surprise even to himself, who is not shy about the abilities he thinks he possesses. He had no previous experience in the ODA area and/or commitment to it. His first task as junior Minister was to explain why the government was reengaging on the solemn promise it made to reach the UN target of 0.7 per cent of GNP in ODA by 2007. This promise was made at a time when Ireland was campaigning for support among the nations at the UN General Assembly for a seat in the UN Security Council in 2000-2002. At least partly on the basis of that commitment Ireland was voted on to the Security Council. It is not clear how this is a full time job. Liz O'Donnell held this position in the 1997-2002 government but along with those responsibilities, she was almost intimately involved in Northern Ireland negotiations and one of the two PD members at the cabinet table, along with her leader, Mary Harney. Conor Lenihan's appointment here was an extraordinary one (on the period 2002 to 2004 the position was held by Tom Kitt, who was recognised as having a "feel" for the role), again perhaps indicative of the priority Bertie Ahern attaches to the position. Lenihan's "kebabs" remark in the Dáil in reference to the Turkish GAMA workers was an insight into a mind-set that was hardly appropriate for the ODA position.
John Browne
Was Minister of State at Agriculture and Food Minster with special responsibility of forestry from 29 September 2004-14 February 2006. This is a non-job. Forestry was once of importance, not it is a mere sideshow with a tiny budget. Has been moved to take over responsibility for Marine at Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. This is a real job for, effectively, he will be Minister for the Marine with responsibility for steering through the Dáil controversial fisheries legislation.
Brendan Smith
Minster of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food with responsibility for Food and Horticulture. This guy is able. But does he have a job? Agriculture is now run, in the main from Brussels. Why the Department now requires two Ministers for State, along with a senior minister, is unclear. Most of his time seems to be spent on announcing grants. A name-sake of his, Paddy Smith, was senior Minister for Agriculture under Sean Lemass n the early 1960's. He resigned on a Tuesday morning in 1964, communicating his intention by telephone before leaving his Cavan constituency by ministerial car. By the time he reached Dublin, Sean Lemass had appointed his successor, Charles Haughey. A decisiveness not replicated in the two and a half months it took Bertie Ahern to appoint a Junior Minister in succession to Ivor Callely.
Síle de Valera
Minister of State at Education and Science with special responsibility for Adult Education, Youth Affairs and Educational Disadvantage. She was demoted from senior Ministerial office after the 2002 general election and has been lacklustre since then, all the more so since announcing her intention to retire from politics at the next election. Willie O'Dea had responsibility in this area previously and struggled to make a job of it. She has not struggled to make a job of it.
Frank Fahey
Minster of State at the Department of Justice on equality issues with special responsibility on disability issues. He has tried to clear up the mess left by Mary Wallace when she held this portfolio before the 2002 election. Previously he was a senior minister and was demoted. The lumping of equality issues into the Department of Justice, with Michael McDowell as senior minister, signals the regard the government has for equality. Frank Fahey has no track record in this area and no known interest in equality issues.
Pat the Cope Gallagher
Minister of State at Transport with special responsibility for Traffic Management issues in Dublin and the major cities, Road Haulage and the Irish Aviation Authority. This is an extraordinary appointment. A deputy from furthest part of Donegal given primary responsibility for resolving traffic gridlock in Dublin. Absolutely no known interest or aptitude in the area. Not that he is not able and was not a competent Minister in the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. The job he now has is that which was vacated by Ivor Callely when he was forced from office in December. Traffic gridlock did not get noticeably worse while there was no Junior Minister in charge, which raises the issue why does this need a Junior Minister at all? Anyway, the chances of anybody elected to the Dáil having any expertise in this area is remote, even more so when the Minister is himself remote.
Michael Ahern
Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment with special responsibility for trade and commerce. This fellow is able. He was involved in the World Trade Organisation negotiations, involve in company law and intellectual property issues, also trade missions. As an accountant he probably knows more about enterprise, trade and employment than does the senior Minister, Michéal Martin, an ex teacher.
Noel Ahern
Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government with special responsibility for Housing and Urban Renewal and at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs with special responsibility for Drugs Strategy and Community Affairs. Bertie's brother is as able and cunning (almost) as his sibling. Formerly a CIÉ employee, he knew nothing about drugs or the regeneration of deprived areas or about housing when he was appointed Junior Minister with responsibility for these areas. There is a real job here but the handing of responsibility for these areas to deputies who have now expertise or knowledge in the area – Eoin Ryan previously had responsibility here – is indicative of the disregard the government has for these issues.
Tom Parlon
Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for the Office for Public Works. The Office of Public Works mission statement says its objective is: "To deliver in support of Government Policies, high quality services in property, design, construction and procurement on time and on budget." Why a Minister for State has responsibility for this and why it is not a separate state agency, run independently of meddling, incompetent ministers, is unknown. Not that Tom Parlon is the worst of them, although he never previously ran anything other than the IFA and his farm. The worst, by far, must surely be Martin Cullen, who as Minister of State here bought Farmleigh House for the State for £23m, after it had gone on sale for £13m! Parlon has responsibilty for the disastrouis decentralisation programme, thought-up by Charlie McCreevy.
Batt O'Keefe
Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government special responsibility in the area of Environmental Protection. He has responsibility for recycling and attended the Kyoto conference on the environment, where Ireland signed up to measures which it has failed to see through since. O'Keefe has changed constituencies since the last election because of constituency boundary changes – he was elected in 2002 for Cork South Central but will contest Cork North West in the next election. As part of his effort to ingratiate himself with his new constituents he intervened in the dispute at Charleville, Co Cork, where a group of residents were picketing and obstructing the opening of a home, run by Slí Eile, for people recently discharged from mental hospitals. O'Keefe supplied the protesting residents with information obtained from Cork County Council and the former Southern Health Board. Whereas most TDs in such situations will stand aside and avoid taking a stand on behalf of vulnerable constituents, there are few examples where TDs have taken a stand against them.
Tony Killeen
Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Labour Affairs. Effectively he has responsibility for what used to be the Department of Labour. He is able and has survived breaking with the party whip over the Shannon stop-over.