Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious that we are meeting in the week of the tenth anniversary of the bank guarantee. In this context, is the Minister's Department seeking or has it sought to recruit consultants with a view to reviewing bankers' pay? Their current limitation, I think, is around the €500,000 mark. I understand there has been some avid pre-budget lobbying on the part of bankers to stress their poverty and how they need a pay rise. Given that the economic figures and the atmosphere at present are very similar, I think, to the period 2005-07 - in other words, there has been a massive expansion of the economy but there are also really serious problems - what is Deputy Donohoe's position as Minister for Finance on bankers' pay?