Eoin O’Malley: Super-junior ministers — jobs for the boys or a necessary function of government?

The family photo of the new Government in Áras an Uachtaráin almost two weeks ago caused some annoyance, mainly about the small number of women in it. But there was controversy, too, because of the proposed increase in the number of junior ministers from 20 to 23. While the Government claims this reflects the need for extra personnel to cover increasingly complex policies, it will take some work to convince most people that this isn’t just “jobs for the boys” and satisfying the demands of government formation.

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