Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Every other employee has no option, as there is no opt-out in terms of staying within the salary norms. As Mr. Cregan knows, and he has put it very succinctly in his report, under public pay policy a section 38 organisation is not entitled to pay remuneration above a rate as reduced in accordance with that policy or any general agreement on pay. In other words, the organisation does not have the discretion and one cannot have an arrangement like Lanigan's Ball where one can step in and step out of public pay policy.