Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Can I drill into this with the example of the allowance relating to the Army Medical Corps? A senior surgeon in the Army Medical Corps is paid an allowance. This appears to make eminent sense given the environment within which some of the surgeons could be operating but why is that an allowance? I know Colonel O'Keeffe does not like the comparison with private and public sectors in this context because there is no private army so one cannot make the analogy. However, a useful analogy is where someone doing a more demanding job in very difficult circumstances is simply paid extra for it. It is not an allowance, rather it is extra salary in compensation for the fact that one is doing a difficult job. How have we got to the point where something like that is seen as an allowance?