A TOTAL of €10 million of taxpayers' money is spent every year in directly funding support staff for the Cabinet, Fine Gael has said.
A series of parliamentary questions submitted by frontbench spokesman Michael Ring revealed that the combined salaries of 34 special and media advisers to Government Ministers now totals €3.7 million, with a further €3.1 million paid to press officers and a total of €2.9 million for staff and civil servants assigned to constituency work for the Ministers.
The details include staff who are permanent civil servants, as well as special advisers and press advisers recruited by Ministers, who are known as "political appointments".
The highest paid is Taoiseach Brian Cowen's programme manager Joe Lennon whose salary is €216,516. The latest special advisor to join the Taoiseach's Department, Prof Peter Clinch from UCD, is to be paid a salary of €199,953, according to figures released to Mr Ring.
The next two highest are Environment Minister John Gormley's programme manager Donal Geoghegan (€173,217) and Oliver O'Connor who is paid €168,992 as Health Minister Mary Harney's programme manager.
The figures do not include details for advisers to new Ministers Brendan Smyth and Batt O'Keeffe. The costs of the press offices of all Government Ministers cost €3.1 million cumulatively, according to the figures.
Responding to the figures, Mr Ring said: "At a time of cutbacks,the knife should start at the bloated top where Ministers are surrounded by huge retinues of advisers, press officers and constituency workers. Let's see the Government lead by example and cut some of these jobs instead of taking frontline services away in areas like health and education."