Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This exercise by the Committee of Public Accounts has been quite useful. Representatives of the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence were before us last week, as the witness is probably aware. I have been critical of the Croke Park agreement for adopting what I see as a catch-all way of treating everyone, regardless of income, the same. It has created a two-tier process in how we view different people in the public sector.

When we had representatives of the Defence Forces before us last week, it was nearly embarrassing to be an Irish citizen, let alone a public representative, when we saw the measly salaries that some privates in the Defence Forces earn. From what I can see, when the nation had money, rather than addressing the fact that some privates in the Army earned in and around the minimum wage, if not less, we threw them a few allowances. Rather than grappling with the fact that these people were grossly underpaid and earning less than the minimum wage, we gave out the allowances. As a result, we have created a system of allowances, some of which sound ridiculous.