With 92 votes in support and 72 against, the Dáil passed government legislation to expand the number of Ministers of State from 20 to 23, reports RTE.
Three super junior minister positions will be created as part of the measure.
It is now scheduled to be discussed tomorrow morning at the Seanad.
Under the law, the number of junior ministers would rise from a record 20 to a new record 23—up from 15 ten years ago, reports RTE.
Ten Fianna Fáil, eight Fine Gael, and five Regional Independents are represented in the figure.
In addition to their TD salary of €113,679, ministers of state will also get an extra payment of €45,846 and a travel and lodging allowance that ranges from €6,000 to €32,000, reports RTE.
The remuneration for the three super junior ministers would be €13,145.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers gave an overview of the rationale behind the increase of ministers at the beginning of the bill’s discussion, reports RTE.
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He informed the Dáil that “many of the new challenges we face are cross-cutting and require cross-departmental responses” and that there is a “increased volume of Government priorities” among them.
According to Mr. Chambers, these objectives include rural areas, policing, housing, education, business requirements, and aiding the agricultural industry.
However, some opposition parties, notably Sinn Féin, questioned his stance. Deputy Pa Daly, one of its members, is pursuing a lawsuit about the super junior jobs, r r
The government’s approach is about “more deals, more Mercs, and more perks,” said to Mairéad Farrell, the party’s spokesperson for public expenditure and reform.
Dáil officials’ decision to exclude “all amendments” to the bill “bar one” was condemned by her, who said that the strategy for passing the law was “riding roughshod” over sincere discussion, reports RTE.
Pearse Doherty, the Finance Spokesperson for Sinn Féin, backed her remarks.
It is “the first piece of legislation Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael thought to bring forward” together with “this sums up the priority” of the government, reports RTE.
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