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WITH 38 MINISTERS, the new government is the largest in the history of the State. Of these, 15 are full ministers and 23 are junior Ministers, including four ‘Super Junior’ Ministers who attend Cabinet.
The government has tried to justify this expansion by reference to an increase in the size of the population. This makes no sense when you consider the fact that many larger countries have fewer Ministers (Denmark with a population of 6 million has 25 Ministers) and international trends don’t suggest a strong correlation between population and number of Ministers.
The real reason is much baser — this is about sharing the spoils of power between a number of different parties and groupings.
Having forced a waiver of any pre-legislative scrutiny last week, later today the government will push through legislation to increase the maximum number of Junior Ministers from 20 to 23, and the maximum number of ‘Super Juniors’ who attend meetings of the Government from three to four. The legislation will also enable the payment of additional allowances to ‘Super Juniors’.
The government’s first legislative act is expanding the number of Ministers. Its second is lining their pockets. Previously, they had to get by on a modest combined salary and expenses of €176,000 (more than four times average earnings!). Former Fine Gael chief whip, Paul Kehoe, incredibly put on the poor mouth, and claimed that junior ministers were sleeping in hostels as a result. Now the government is changing the law to ensure they will now get an additional set of expenses worth tens of thousands of euros!
The clearest example of this sharing out of the spoils of power is the increase in the number of ‘Super Juniors’. What started out as one ‘Super Junior’ in 1994 has ballooned into a record four this time around. Their connections to the secret deals between the government parties and groupings are illustrated by the fact that two out of the four are ‘Independents’ from Michael Lowry’s Regional Group (Seán Canney and Noel Grealish). Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael also get one each.
Junior Ministers are created by legislation, not by the Constitution, so there is no constitutional limit on how many can be created. However, the creation of Junior Ministers who attend Cabinet, the so-called ‘Super Junior’ Ministers, is very likely a breach of the Constitution.
Last week I initiated a High Court action seeking an injunction preventing ‘Super Junior’ Ministers from attending the Cabinet, as their attendance breaches Articles 6,13 and 28 of the Constitution. I also sought a declaration by the High Court that the additional allowances paid to ‘Super Juniors’ are invalid.
The Constitutional argument is very simple. Article 28 of the Constitution states;
“The Government shall consist of not less than seven and not more than fifteen members…”
The Constitution also states that the government shall act collectively and confidentially. But the attendance of ‘Super Junior’ Ministers is in clear breach of that.
The truth is that these ‘Super Junior’ attendees effectively act as Ministers. Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar gave the game away last month when he wrote in The Sunday Times that these ‘Super Junior’ Minister positions were used to “get around the ‘rule of 15’”.
He explained that at Cabinet, “they were treated as equals, had a full set of advisers and brought their own memos for decisions.”
They get the extra allowances, and attend and participate in all Cabinet discussions. All of this breaches the Constitution for the sole purpose of spreading around the spoils of office. This is a political stroke.
Leo Varadkar has written that perhaps “it’s time to bite the bullet and amend the Constitution to allow for the number of senior ministers to increase”. Then let’s have that debate and allow the people to decide in a referendum.
We in People Before Profit want to see a radically different Constitution, as the basis for a secular, truly democratic and socialist society which enshrines people’s rights to housing, healthcare and a healthy environment. One that would see elected representatives on the average workers’ wage and recallable by those who elect them. One that would ensure that decision-making is carried out transparently and in the clear view of the public.
But while we have a Constitution that limits the number of Ministers to 15, we will not allow the government to breach it in order to fit more snouts at the trough of government.
Paul Murphy is People Before Profit TD for Dublin South West.
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