Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No, it will not. We have heard that from both officials and union representatives. Certainly, the message I get from the people Ms King talks about in my constituency is that they want it to happen. Obviously, they want the same amount of money in their pockets at the end of the week. That is normal, and it is ICTU's job to protect that interest. They want a situation whereby their core pay is not called an allowance because they view it as their core pay.

On that much we can probably agree.

Mr. Geraghty was never asked for a submission. Had he been asked, could it hypothetically have contained A, B or C? If we could continue with that hypothesis for a moment. During this examination, I have divided allowances into approximately three categories in my mind. First, an allowance that is a payment for extra responsibilities, qualifications and additional work, which would also be the case in the private sector. One would do a job in a company, get promoted or be given extra responsibility. Teaching is the simplest example. A teacher is given a post of responsibility and is given an allowance. That is core pay.

Second, an allowance that is an expense. Be it for shoes or something else, it relates to costs incurred while going about one's daily job. It is fine that some of these are met by expenses.

The third category could be broken down into section upon section, but when colleagues and I have asked about some allowances, paper started flying while the raft of officials tried to find out what the allowances were about. The recipients are not making fortunes from their allowances. As Deputy Donohoe stated more eloquently than I could, it is a long tail of small allowances being paid to a few people, for example, for eating in one's workplace, the caretaker in Mayo, etc. We have looked through a raft of allowances.

Assuming Mr. Geraghty was making a submission, would it not bring more to the table if the allowances that could be consolidated into pay were identified? I am referring to outdated allowances, even the names of which are damaging to the credibility of the pay of public servants. Titles such as "eating at a desk allowance" or whatever it is called do nothing to serve the needs of workers, let alone anyone else.