Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE NEW GOVERNMENT, which is set to take office next week will have the highest number of junior ministers in the history of the State.
Not only that, but they will also be the best paid in the history of the State.
Plans are in place for 23 Minister of State roles to be created, three more than the outgoing government had.
The increase means that a legislative change is required, something a government spokesperson said will be done “early on” in the lifetime of the Government. It’s understood this will be as early as next week.
The Independents involved in Government (The Regional Group and the Healy-Rae brothers) have also managed to secure a boost to expense allowances for those taking up junior and super-junior ministerial roles.
Opposition TDs have reacted with fury over the move.
As it stands, junior ministers receive the standard TD salary of €113,679 per year, plus an additional €45,846 for being a minister of state. Super-junior ministers (who sit at the Cabinet table) receive an additional €16,000 on top of this.
On top of this, as reported by the Irish Daily Mail yesterday, junior and super-junior ministers in Government are now set to benefit from an additional travel allowance worth up to €32,535 per year.
This allowance is currently only available to TDs, but a Government spokesperson told The Journal an agreement to review this rule is in place so that “people wouldn’t lose out by taking extra responsibilities”.
All in all, that means the incoming super junior ministers, so far confirmed to be Independents Noel Grealish and Seán Canney, will be in line for annual pay packages of circa €200,000.
The draft programme for government, which was published earlier this week, commits to re-establishing a minister of state for fisheries/marine. A government spokesperson said the two other additional junior ministers will have responsibility for migration and older people.
Sinn Féin’s Mairéad Farrell called on the government to clarify its plans and said this is simply self interest from government TDs.
“A TD’s salary already places a recipient in the top 6% of income earners. When you add on the ministerial salary of circa €46,000 and super-junior allowance of €16,000, you go higher up the income distribution again.
“We don’t need more wastage of public funds arising from negotiations with parties and individuals who have no significant policy or ideological differences. This is just them looking after themselves,” the Galway West TD said.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said it seems as though the coalition discussions were focused “around how many jobs could be created for the boys”.
“On top of that, they have awarded all of their new junior ministers tens of thousands of euros extra in expenses. This is extremely grubby stroke politics,” he said.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Looking forward to the brits saying saidhbhín, they cant even sat doherty correctly
@Brian Dunne: Lee Mack might have to update his Irish names routine…
@Brian Dunne: Does anyone know why the British pronounce Doherty as Dockerty? There is clearly no k in the name. Does my head in.
@Peter Cavey: because they know it annoys us, aul brits up to their old tricks
@Peter Cavey: McGrath and Moran are two other simple names they can’t master
@Brian Dunne: And Gallagher. They say Gallagurr but yet they can pronounce Callaghan just fine.
@Brian Dunne: how is it pronounced?
@Madra: Sadabadahnnnnnnnnnnnin I think
@Madra: sive-een
@Madra: sive-een.
@Brian Dunne: I would have problems with the pronunciation of Saidbhin Sorry about the lack of a fada I don’t know how to type one
@Brian Dunne: Hope we don’t get as far as S!
@Peter Cavey: yup. It comes from a time when even we pronounced it closer to Dockerty. It’s from Middle Irish Dochartaigh, where the ch is pronounced as in Scottish loch. The English continued to pronounce this k/ch sound, while we in Ireland lost it. Think along the lines of Monaghan (originally Muineachán), Fermanagh (Fear Manach), Gallagher (Gallchobhair) etc. The gh in Monaghan and Fermanagh is now rendered a h or absent in all English dialects, but in some words the original sound has been retained in a much closer approximation in English dialects than in Irish English dialects.
@Peter Cavey: Scottish
@dmcardle: I remember that! I’m still trying to figure out whether I ought to be amused or insulted by that sketch :)
Diversity for storm names…talk about snowflakes and first world problems..
@Canyon: People complaining about storm names – first world problems.
@Canyon: Well, we do live in the first world last time I checked…
@KilkennyProud: in case you missed it…I’m complaining about those wanting diversity in storm names.
They have put the phonetics under Evert, Klaas and Minnie but have left Saidhbhàin to chance. Good luck BBC weather team!
@Ted Logan: This is Met Eireann’s graphic for Ireland. I imagine the UK and Dutch met offices will produce their own version with phonetics for the ones that are challenging locally.
I wonder why Saidhbhín and not Saidhbh. I know noone with that name, though I Saidhbh is familiar
@Goban Saor: Do you know many Everts?
@Goban Saor: It’s just so that we could have more fun messing with some Sky presenters’ heads!
Congratulations to all the team. No longer will have to point at the weather and shout, ‘I hate that nameless b@stard’.
Saidhbhín? Picking a random, barely pronounceable name is the way forward I guess.
Can imagine the person who added the phonetic spelling getting to Saidhbhin ..” Sai.. …what the F …I give up”
What happens if there are more storms than names listed about.. 21 there.. will No 22 be called Aiden +1?
What a load of bl…… seriously picking hardest to say names a poss.
Wheres Mohammud?
Naming weather. Whatever!
They should have got enough practise trying to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull a few years ago.
Should not there be a list from time to time and then, once all the names have been used, to get a new list? Most years, the second half of the list does not have any storm (fortunately).
have your say