Ahern dismisses Blair 'set up' on advisers

The Taoiseach does not want the British Prime Minister's "set up" with political advisers, he has told the Dáil.

Mr Ahern said he was not sure what Mr Blair's political advisers were called "but there is an enormous number of them" and "from my experience of dealing with Prime Minister Blair, I do not want his set up".

He was responding to the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, who asked if he had any comparative figures with Britain, when it appeared that the "number of advisers and political assistants employed by the Government is larger than that employed by the British government".

Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said he hoped the Taoiseach's advisers did not "get him into the same trouble as Prime Minister Blair", in reference to the war in Iraq.

The Taoiseach said there was a code of conduct for political advisers, which had been tightened up considerably."They are included in and must comply with the Ethics in Public Office Act and have to fill in separate forms." He added that his "special advisers are not involved in spin, they are involved in the organisation of Government business. They do not have any dealing with the media."