Size of Government

One issue that is unlikely to be sufficiently aired in the election is the administrative costs of running the government — not in the sense of the overall government spending share in the economy, but the costs of the bureaucracy around the politicians.  We’ve aired this issue before on IE, especially in terms of the size of the Cabinet, and it was highlighted again when the Tony Killeen affair revealed the extent to which TDs’ constituency offices had become “representation” mills — all paid for by taxpayers.  Given the extent to which these practices travel over from Britain, here’s an interesting link from Backword on the Special Advisers problem. 

It notes among other things the evolution of Labour’s view on the utility of Special Advisers as they travelled from Opposition to Government.  The Republic seems to have added additional twists, such as the Special Advisers running for cover when any scandal hits (see Health), and ministers installing their advisers as councillors to manage their local fiefdoms.  Unfortunately there’s little prospect of any of this changing, despite the challenges of cost and accountability that the system imposes.