Brian Cowen's Cabinet reshuffle has been accompanied by changes at adviser level, writes Deaglán de Bréadún, Political Correspondent
SOME ARE former political activists, others are career civil servants who have established a good working relationship with a particular Minister, and still others have worked as journalists or broadcasters.
There is no lack of variety among the special advisers and press officials who are a key part of the back-up team in the current Government.
The special advisers generally meet on the afternoon before the next Cabinet meeting, under the chairmanship of the Taoiseach's new programme manager, Joe Lennon. Cabinet meetings are usually held on Tuesday mornings but sometimes take place on Wednesdays, eg, when the Dáil is not sitting.
The press advisers meet under the chairmanship of Government Press Secretary Eoghan Ó Neachtain on the same morning as the Cabinet to discuss the coming events of the week and what their respective Ministers are doing. The atmosphere between appointees of the different coalition parties is described as "very businesslike and professional".
In the recent changeover at the top from Bertie Ahern to Brian Cowen, a number of personnel changes took place at adviser and press official level. Where a Minister was moved to a different department, the advisers and senior press people generally moved as well. Some of the appointments await formal approval by Cabinet.
The main changes were in the Taoiseach's own department where programme manager Gerry Hickey left with Bertie Ahern, and special adviser Pádraig Slyne moved to the office of Chief Whip Pat Carey.
Hickey was replaced by Lennon and the other new arrivals are Gerry Steadman and Declan Ryan, who join speechwriter Brian Murphy on the team of special advisers. Mandy Johnston stepped down as Government Press Secretary after the general election and was replaced by Ó Neachtain, who has stayed on under the Cowen administration.
Joe Lennon has vast experience of the workings of government. He worked with Des O'Malley when the PD leader was minister for industry and commerce and later in the Department of Finance with Ruairí Quinn before becoming government press secretary for Bertie Ahern in the period 1997-2002.
More recently, he was with the Health Service Executive (HSE) before returning to the Taoiseach's department under Brian Cowen. Highly respected, the soft-spoken Lennon takes a considered, pragmatic approach to the issues of the day and looks before he leaps, but he is very much a "can-do" type of person as well, who dislikes red tape and unnecessary procedural complications.
Ó Neachtain is a former Army officer who worked successfully in the Defence Forces press office during the difficult period of the Army deafness claims. He later became head of communications with the ESB before taking up his present job. Brian Murphy is a former researcher at Fianna Fáil headquarters. A talented wordsmith, he is given much of the credit for Bertie Ahern's more successful speeches, eg, at Westminster last year and more recently to the US Congress.
Murphy also added the final professional polish to Ahern's resignation statement on April 2nd. He also contributed to the writing of the Programme for Government last year. Steadman has worked closely with Brian Cowen in different departments and Ryan is a former adviser to Minister of State John McGuinness and, prior to that, a researcher at Fianna Fáil HQ.
When Mary Coughlan changed posts from minister for agriculture to Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, she brought special adviser Dermot Murphy with her. Similarly, special adviser Cathy Herbert accompanied Brian Lenihan when he moved from Justice to the Department of Finance. Micheál Martin brought advisers Deirdre Gillane and Christy Mannion with him, as well as Jerry O'Connor on the press side, when he moved from Enterprise, Trade and Employment to Foreign Affairs. Dermot Ahern's transfer to Justice from Foreign Affairs was also a move for special adviser CiaráÓ Cuinn and press adviser Richard Moore.
Special adviser Averil Power accompanied Mary Hanafin from Education to Social and Family Affairs. Brendan Smith moved up from Minister of State for Children to become Minister for Agriculture: Dermot Ryan is his special adviser, with Philip Hannon looking after the media side. Smith's former title has been changed to Minister of State for Youth and Children and Dún Laoghaire TD Barry Andrews now occupies the post. It is known as the "super-junior" job because the holder is allowed to attend Cabinet meetings. His new special adviser is to be Liam Cullen (no relation to Martin Cullen), moving from his position as Fianna Fáil's head of research.
Civil servant Deirdre McDonnell has been appointed special adviser to new Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe. Martin Cullen has moved from Social and Family Affairs to Arts, Sport and Tourism along with Michelle Hoctor (a sister of Minister of State Máire Hoctor), who is his press official, though currently doubling as special adviser as well.
The arrival of the Green Party in government not only meant two new senior Ministers and one minister of state but also several new special advisers and three press officials. The Green programme manager is Dónall Geoghegan, with Ryan Meade, Dr Morgan Bazilian and David Healy advising Minister for the Environment John Gormley and Suzanne Duke working with Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan.
PD programme manager Oliver O'Connor and special adviser Patricia Ryan stayed put with Mary Harney in the Department of Health and Children.
Other special advisers who stayed where they were included Derek Mooney (Defence), Olive Stephens (Transport) and Pádraic Ó hUiginn in Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs (not to be confused with Pádraig Ó hUiginn, former secretary-general at the Department of the Taoiseach). Francis Kieran is special adviser to Attorney General Paul Gallagher.
On the press side, the Green Party is represented by John Downing as Deputy Government Press Secretary, with former Irish Timesenvironment correspondent Liam Reid in Mr Gormley's office and Bríd McGrath working with Eamon Ryan.
Mark Costigan also holds the title of Deputy Government Press Secretary as well as Head of Government Information Services, having been nominated by Mary Harney, and Derek Cunningham is the PD Minister's spokesman in the Department of Health.
Special advisers do not attend Cabinet meetings. Some of them used to attend meetings of Cabinet sub-committees "on an ad hoc basis", but this practice has been discontinued on Brian Cowen's instructions since he became Taoiseach.
A Government spokesman said special advisers are generally paid at the level of Principal Officer in the Civil Service, which ranges from €84,000 to €110,000 per annum. Press advisers can be at Principal Officer or Assistant Principal Officer level, ranging from €64,000 to €110,000, the spokesman said, although some career civil servants may be on the less-remunerative Higher Executive Officer scale.
With the appointment of a new Cabinet by Brian Cowen, the advisers and media officials became technically out of contract and specific pay levels are not fixed as yet. Joe Lennon's predecessor as the Taoiseach's programme manager, Gerry Hickey, received €229,918 in annual salary, higher than most members of the Cabinet. Salaries for special advisers and the Government Press Secretary in the Taoiseach's department are in the range €100,000 to €147,000.
The primary function of the special advisers is "to monitor, facilitate and help secure the achievement of Government objectives and to ensure effective co-ordination in the implementation of the Programme for Government".
They are also tasked with giving Ministers advice and keeping them informed on a wide range of issues, including business, financial, economic, political, administrative and media matters and performing such other functions, such as speechwriting, as may be directed by their Ministers.
Section 11 (1) of the Public Service Management Act, 1997, makes provision for the appointment of special advisers, and their terms and conditions are determined by the Minister for Finance. The appointments are subject to the Civil Service Regulations Acts, 1956 to 1996, and any other Act in force relating to the Civil Service.