Carey defends number of junior ministers in Govt
Government chief whip Pat Carey has defended the amount of junior ministers in the Coalition during a Dáil debate on whether their numbers should be slashed.
Fine Gael has tabled a motion calling for the number of ministers of state to be cut from 20 to 12 because of the need to slash public spending and to show leadership in the current economic crisis.
The party says each junior minister costs the taxpayer around €750,000 per year and questions can legitimately be asked about the value of the work they do.
Mr Carey, however, has insisted that 20 ministers are needed due to increased workloads on politicians.
The Green Party has also indicated that it will not be supporting the Fine Gael motion when it is put to a vote this evening.
