MINISTERS OF State who have offered to stand down from their posts “have certainly not done any favours” to Taoiseach Brian Cowen or colleagues who try to perform their duties properly, a colleague has said.
Clearly angered by their conduct, Minister of State for Health and Children John Moloney said he had been “appalled” by statements made by Martin Mansergh, Conor Lenihan and Seán Power.
However, he said he “did not regard it as inevitable” that Mr Cowen would bow to pressure to cut the number of Ministers of State.
“If they want to hand back their jobs they should have waited until the Taoiseach comes back [from Japan],” said Mr Moloney.
"They certainly have not done any favours to the Taoiseach or those of us who take our jobs seriously and for those of us who try to come to grips and deal with our responsibilities," he told The Irish Times.
He said he had been “honoured” to have been appointed as a Minister of State last year, and said he has worked hard to improve mental health and disability services.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael is to put down a Dáil motion demanding the number of Ministers of State be cut from 20 to 17 – the number that existed in the last Dáil.
Following the Green Party’s call for cuts, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said: “We will put down a motion in the Dáil and allow the Greens to give vent by way of vote, if it gets that far. The Greens have come out and said that there are too many. Eight months ago, I said that those three should never have been appointed, and we voted against them. So now they are going to get the opportunity in the House to vote.”
But the numbers of State-paid constituency staff enjoyed by Ministers of State should be cut quickly, he added.
“It is completely unfair that there are up to 14 civil servants working in various offices for Ministers of State across the country, churning out literature and various pieces of propaganda in constituency offices.”
However, he said the controversy about the number of Ministers of State was “a diversion from the real crisis out there in the economy”.
Fine Gael, he said, has urged the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to create a transparent expenses system for TDs and senators. The number of Dáil committees, standing at 20, should be cut, Mr Kenny said. “Each incurs expenses for chairmen, deputy chairmen and convenors, as well as civil servants supporting the work of those committees.”
Speaking in Tokyo, Mr Cowen indicated that he was not in favour of reducing the number of Ministers of State. However, he did not categorically rule out the possibility. “All of the Ministers have a job of work to do,” he said.
Minister of State for Trade and Commerce John McGuinness, who was also taking part in the official visit to Japan, said he would not rule anything out in terms of a reduction in numbers.