Varadkar's political advisers paid close to €500,000 in exit payments

Kenneth Fox

Political advisers and staff in the Department of the Taoiseach received close to €500,000 in total in redundancy and severance payments when they had to leave their jobs following the resignation of Leo Varadkar last year.

Figures set out in the 2024 Appropriation Account of the Department of the Taoiseach show that it paid out a total of €473,647 in statutory redundancy/severance payments that year.

The accounts state that eight staff members in the department whose employment was terminated in 2024 were paid redundancy payments of €77,232 and severance payments totalling €396,415.

The department told The Irish Times that all eight personnel “were in the category of ministerial personal staff”.

Shortly after succeeding Mr Varadkar as taoiseach, Simon Harris told the Dáil in May 2024 that ministerial personal staff employed on temporary contracts were entitled to severance/ex gratia payments, including statutory redundancy, when such arrangements were terminated.

He said this included after a change of government.

“The severance terms are set out by the Department of Public Expenditure, and are calculated based on salary, aligned to Civil Service pay scales, and years’ service.

"All such severance/ex gratia payments under these terms are calculated and paid out by the National Shared Services Office and published in the department’s appropriation account.

“Severance is not payable to staff on secondment from the public service nor to staff who are appointed to another such position across Government within a short space of time,” Mr Harris told Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats in reply to a parliamentary question.

Mr Harris said following the change of government on April 9th, 2024 – in the aftermath of Mr Varadkar’s resignation as taoiseasch – several ministerial personal staff at the Department of the Taoiseach had their contracts terminated.

Mr Harris said the associated severance/ex gratia payments, including statutory redundancy, were at that time being processed by the National Shared Services Office.