Sinn Féin denies contradiction on adviser pay policy

Sinn Féin has defended a general election manifesto commitment to impose a cap on the pay of government special advisers while opposing a Bill that would have capped such pay in Northern Ireland.

In its manifesto Sinn Féin called for a ceiling of €75,000 to be imposed on the pay of ministerial special political advisers, who are known as spads.

Sinn Féin complained that at least seven of the special advisers to Labour and Fine Gael receive pay that is in breach of a Government self-imposed cap.

“Sinn Féin will cap special advisers’ salaries at €75,000, saving the public purse at least half a million euro annually in the Dáil,” said a party spokesman.

Last October, however, Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland helped defeat a Bill proposed by Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister that would have reduced the upper limit for special advisers' salaries from £92,000 (€118,088) a year to about £78,000 (€100,118).

His proposals would also have cut the number of spads working in the joint Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister, then run by Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, from eight to four.

At the time Mr Allister accused Sinn Féin of performing a U-turn, saying the party had initially indicated it would support his Bill.

“The cabal which controls this house has determined to kill this Bill,” he said. “Sinn Féin has ridden to the rescue and done a deal with the DUP on this,” he added.

A Sinn Féin spokesman rejected any suggestions of inconsistency between its stances on special advisers in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

“The private members’ legislation introduced by the anti- agreement TUV leader, Jim Allister, was never about reducing special advisers’ salaries but was an attack on the institutions set up under the Good Friday agreement. It was on this basis that Sinn Féin voted against his Bill,” he said.

“In the most recent negotiations Sinn Féin proposed a 15 per cent pay cut for MLAs, ministers and their special advisers but other parties refused to support this move,” added the spokesman.

Figures disclosed last year showed that £510,000 was paid to Sinn Féin Stormont special advisers, three for Mr McGuinness at a cost of £238,000 and one each at a total cost of £272,000 for its three full ministers and single junior minister, Jennifer McCann, who works in Mr McGuinness’s office.

Sinn Féin says its spads, like other party members, take the average industrial wage of £500 a week and donate the remainder to the party.