TEN MONTHS ago former taoiseach Bertie Ahern increased the number of junior ministers by three to 20. This allowed him to reward some backbenchers in his own party with promotion and to accommodate his new coalition partner, the Green Party, with a junior ministerial post. The case for those extra places was difficult to justify then. Now, at a time of economic retrenchment, the continuing need for 20 junior ministers is harder to support.
The new Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, is expected to complete the composition of his Government today with the announcement of his junior ministerial team in the Dáil. He may face a strong temptation to follow precedent and make 20 appointments. He should resist doing so. To take that easy option would be to miss an early opportunity to define a new attitude and approach: one more in accord with economic realities and in tune with the public mood. The Government has already blundered badly by accepting special ministerial pay increases for itself while asking others to accept wage restraint in the national pay talks. In the exposed private sector, market forces are taking their toll. There, job losses for some and a pay freeze in prospect for others are set against a deteriorating economic backdrop where inflation is rising and unemployment is increasing.
Clearly market forces are dictating change to which the Government must respond. One way would be for a symbolic downsizing of government, which could best be achieved by the appointment of fewer junior ministers.
From the foundation of the State and for half a century until 1977, seven junior ministers (then called parliamentary secretaries) served from 12 to 15 cabinet ministers. Since then, in three decades, that number has increased to 20. When Ireland joined the European Community, it took on extra international responsibilities which included hosting the rotating six-month presidency of the community. For that, extra ministerial support was necessary and the appointment of three junior ministers was fully justified. But more recently, the ever-increasing size of this second tier of government is both unmerited and unsustainable, and lacks any overall coherence. Currently, five junior ministers have responsibilities for aspects of the work of the Department of Education and four have been assigned to that of Health. This dilution of ministerial responsibility makes little political or administrative sense.
The Constitution, which restricts the number of cabinet ministers to 15, ensures that no more can be appointed without a referendum to change that provision. The number of junior ministers, however, can be changed by legislation at the whim of the taoiseach of the day, which explains the three-fold increase since 1977. If public sector reform is indeed to become a priority of Mr Cowen's new administration, he should lead by example. He could take this opportunity to make a start by culling the number of junior ministers and by giving fewer ministers more clear-cut departmental responsibilities.