Opposition fails to get a rise out of the Taoiseach - unlike his special advisers

DÁIL SKETCH:IT'S THE latest new dance – and it's all the rage in Cabinet.

They call it the “Bump Up”. The Taoiseach treated the Dáil to a sparkling performance of it yesterday. All tight angles and precision spins, he nearly had Gerry Adams’s eye out with his flicks of the hip and swerves of the lip.

Micheál Martin looked mesmerised by Enda Kenny’s impressive moves, although as a leading member of the last Fianna Fáil administration he would be no stranger to the salary Bump Up. But Micheál is dancing a different routine now.

Since he assumed office, Enda has had quite a bit of practice at dancing the political cha-cha around pay rises for his Cabinet’s special advisers, and it shows.

After a particularly nimble shimmy around the subject during Taoiseach’s Questions, we concluded Enda would make a marvellous addition to an Irish edition of Strictly Come Dancing.

The Sinn Féin leader was hoping to catch him out of step with his Government’s oft-stated claims that we are all in an austerity dance together. How could this be, he wondered, when Enda and his colleagues have been caught flouting their own guidelines when it comes to capping the pay of their advisers? He wanted to know how many times the Taoiseach had “interfered” or “intervened” to breach the pay ceiling for an adviser. He accused him of breaking his own rules. Whereupon Enda began to dance.

He had neither intervened nor interfered. No. He had “sanctioned”. Which is a different thing altogether. Setting a salary level is a question for the Minister for Public Expenditure. Enda twirled impressively on his pinhead.

The bill for all the advisers in 2009 was a huge €1.085 million, while the current Government’s team of hot-shots only costs the exchequer €576,000. He danced clear of saying he “intervened” on behalf of an adviser who wanted to be paid above the guideline.

At this point, the Sinn Féin leader had a Frontline moment reminiscent of the game-changing exchange during the presidential debate between Martin McGuinness and Seán Gallagher. “Would you like to reflect on that?” asked Gerry, mindful of the published emails that appeared to show the Taoiseach pulling rank on dissenting Ministers and insisting his former Fine Gael adviser be paid above the going rate. Enda duly reflected.

“The email that has been bandied about . . . was sent from my office and that was in regard to the sanction of the appointment of a special adviser to a Minister . . . Yes, it was in breach of the guidelines, and I’ve already answered questions about why sanction was sought for that. So my job, in respect of this element of this work, is to sanction the appointments of the special advisers.” Dancing the salary Bump Up.

“So you have intervened,” said Gerry, demanding to know why.

Enda repeated that he didn’t interfere. He sanctioned.

The fact the person in question (who had his salary upped at his express request, above the guideline recommended by the relevant departments) is a member of Fine Gael was “immaterial”. He had worked “in very diligent fashion for Fine Gael in a very important position for eight to nine years”, explained the Taoiseach. The very important work undertaken by the very capable Ciaran Conlon was to help Enda win the election.

Micheál Martin stepped in carefully, saying he understood “the importance of external advice” as a “valued part of how modern government should work”. He hit the mark when pointing out Enda’s problem was his “presentation of this as: do as I say, but not as I do . . . The Government says one thing in public and does a completely different thing in practice . . .” Eight out of 15 salaries have broken the guidelines, he added.

More fancy dancing from Enda, who argued the pay guidelines allowed a breach in “special circumstances”, and those special circumstances were applied in the case of his loyal lieutenant during the wilderness years. They do a very difficult job, he pointed out.

Which might be fine, in the good times, but Enda had just spent Leaders’ Questions explaining how things are different now and tough challenges must be faced in areas such as Health and Education.

People will have to dance the cutback waltz with James Reilly and Ruairí Quinn, and nothing can be done about it. “There can be no question of a reversal of the overall figures.” Except, of course, under the “special circumstances” of doing the salary Bump Up.

Here’s that contentious email sent about Mr Conlon: “The Taoiseach understands that the amount involved goes beyond the guidelines but believes that it is appropriate that the sanction requested would be provided in this specific case.”

That, in Enda’s book, does not amount to interference.

Fancy dancing.

It’s the wrong time to do it.