Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has said there is a determination to resolve the issue. There are reports. Nurses who went on strike and are now on the front line of the pandemic got a Public Service Pay Commission. However, when it comes to top civil servants there is an increase of €81,000 and there does not seem to be any clarity. The Minister has given us no clarity as to how that figure was calculated. What calculations were made in respect of it? The Minister is determined to resolve the issue of student nurses pay, but that is taking up a lot of time for people who simply do not have that kind of money.

The Minister has not clarified for us the position regarding the €81,000 increase. We need detail. What evidence does the Minister have, apart from one meeting for which we received the minutes, that the increase of €81,000 was needed? Did he speak to recruitment agencies about it? Where did the figure of €81,000 come from? Was the figure plucked from the sky?