The Government Chief Whip denied that he had offered the job of millennium press officer to a journalist because he was writing embarrassing articles about the Government.
Mr Seamus Brennan said that at a meeting with Mr Jody Corcoran of the Sunday Independent he had mentioned that the millennium committee was looking for a press officer. Mr Corcoran had responded to the effect that he might be interested himself. He said that Mr Corcoran had already dismissed a conspiracy theory in a statement. He had said that he had considered the offer of the job and turned it down.
Replying to opposition deputies, Mr Brennan said that Mr Tom Rowley of the Irish Independent was eventually appointed on a two-year contract, commencing last month, with an annual salary of £50,000 and performance bonus and pension allowance.
The Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, said the final salary agreed for a two-year contract with Mr Rowley was two-thirds of what was offered to Mr Corcoran.
Mr Brennan said that Mr Corcoran and himself had discussed a range of possible salaries, but matters did not develop to a stage where a formal offer was made to him at that price. "If we started to offer journalists jobs to stop them writing stories, we would have about 4,000 people in Government Buildings."