Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I note the number of meetings Mr. Spring attended last year was 24, while Dr. Somers attended 22. Of the four public interest directors who are former Ministers, Mr. Spring is in receipt of the highest Government pension. He is in receipt of €121,108 per annum. Last year, for example, his fees were €59,000. Excluding last year, he has received fees of €132,000 since the time of his appointment. That is on top of the fact that he has got what I think is a lavish pension. I genuinely do not believe that any public servant should be in receipt of pensions of €121,000 - never mind the fact that they are getting fees of €59,000. The 60 days to which Mr. Spring referred, equates to €1,000 per day. That is his fee as a public interest director on the board of AIB. That is a very heavy fee for his involvement, given the fact that this State is already paying him €121,000. I know that everybody pays tax on their incomes. Mr. Spring has said before that he is a socialist. Does he believe it is appropriate that people like himself who are serving in the public interest are claiming such an extraordinary amount of money from the taxpayer?