Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an issue we are coming across time and again. First, the allowances are badly named. I accept there may be a historical reason but if one were to tell the taxpayer that maintenance staff get a dirt money allowance, it does not exactly instil confidence. Second, the taxpayer would wonder what additional duties are involved in this allowance which would not be part of the day-to-day job of maintenance staff. The dirt money allowance and the eating-on-site allowance, for example, are a reflection of a system, particularly when the country had the money, that failed to put in place proper and more simple pay structures. As a result, we have this convoluted system.