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Varadkar could be witness for injunction on super junior ministers attending Cabinet, says Murphy

The PBP TD says it would be a ‘good idea’ for the former Taoiseach to appear as a witness in the case.

LAST UPDATE | 5 Feb

TD PAUL MURPHY has said it would be a “good idea” to call former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as a witness in an injunction case he is seeking against the appointment of super junior ministers attending Cabinet meetings.

Murphy is seeking a High Court injunction in an attempt to prevent super junior ministers attending Cabinet meetings.

The People Before Profit-Solidarity TD lodged proceedings against the Taoiseach, the Government and the Attorney General yesterday.

The Dublin South-West TD claims the attendance of ministers of state or super junior ministers at cabinet meetings is inconsistent with the Constitution, particularly Articles 6, 13 and 28.

The final of these articles states that the government should consist of a maximum of 15 ministers. There are 15 senior ministers in the new government, plus four super junior ministers (out of the overall 23 junior ministers). 

Super juniors attend Cabinet but do not vote at such meetings. 

Speaking to The Journal, Murphy said he is taking the case because the presence of ministers of state and super junior ministers at Cabinet “flies in the face of the Constitution”.

The very existence of super juniors – and now we have four – is a political stroke designed to, effectively, ensure that there’s more snouts at the trough of government.

“That’s its purpose – share the spoils of power amongst a wider layer of people. And then there’s extra allowances to go with it.”

In his plenary proceedings, Murphy is also seeking a court declaration that government decisions taken at Cabinet meetings attended by ministers of state or super juniors since they were appointed on 23 January are inconsistent with the Constitution.

He wants a further declaration that legislation for payment of allowances to people in these roles is also unconstitutional.

Super juniors receive the standard TD salary of €113,679 per year, plus an additional €45,846 for being a minister of state, as well as other expenses that bring their total salary to around €200,000.

Four super junior ministers were appointed last month: Fine Gael’s Hildegarde Naughton, and Seán Canney and Noel Grealish from the Regional Independent Group. Fianna Fail TD Mary Butler, the Government’s Chief Whip, is also a Minister of State who attends Cabinet.

Article 6 of the Constitution refers to the fact the powers of the government “are exercisable only by or on the authority of the organs of State”. Article 13 concerns the appointment by the President of the Taoiseach and other members of government.

Article 28 states that the government “shall consist of not less than seven and not more than fifteen members who shall be appointed by the President in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution”.

Varadkar ‘let the cat out of the bag’

In a recent article in the Sunday Times, Varadkar said creating super junior ministries is a way to “get around” the fact the number of ministers is technically capped at 15.

Referring to this opinion piece, Murphy said the former Taoiseach “let the cat out of the bag, in terms of saying this was a way to get around the Constitution, to have the super juniors”.

The Constitution isn’t meant to be something that you can get around. It’s meant to be the basic rules of the State.

In the article last month, Varadkar said super juniors “were treated as equals [at Cabinet], had a full set of advisers and brought their own memos for decisions”.

“The fact they didn’t have a vote doesn’t matter – there haven’t been votes at Cabinet for decades,” he added. 

Speaking to reporters outside Leinster House today, Murphy didn’t rule out calling Varadkar as a witness in his case.

“That we need to discuss with the lawyers and work out exactly what we’ll do. And we don’t have a final strategy in terms of what witnesses or whatever.

“But, I mean, yeah, there’s a lot of people that you can imagine would be interesting to get in the witness box,” the TD said.

He said Varadkar’s article “copper fastened” the move to take the action, stating: “Now we have it in writing from a former Taoiseach that effectively there’s no distinction between super juniors and full ministers.”

Murphy is being represented by Feichín McDonagh SC, with barristers Brendan Hennessy and Paul Gunning, instructed by KM Solicitors LLP. The defendants are expected to lodge a reply to Murphy’s proceedings in the coming days.

Separately, Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly is taking a case against the government over the presence of super junior ministers at Cabinet. A full hearing in that case is expected to take place in May.

Daly’s action is for a judicial review, while Murphy’s is a plenary action. In the latter, oral evidence will be heard and witnesses can be called and questioned.

Murphy said he is “supportive” of Daly’s case, adding: “They’re not coordinated, but I think they do complement each other quite well.”

Following a hearing at the High Court related to his case yesterday, Daly said: “The government has increased the Cabinet to 19 by the backdoor when the constitution clearly states the Cabinet cannot exceed 15.

“It is my view that the government is in breach of the constitution, and there now needs to be legal clarity on this matter once and for all.”

Attorney General Rossa Fanning told the High Court that Daly’s case is based on a “simplistic but false” view that attending meetings of government is the same as being a member of government.

With reporting by Christina Finn

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