Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I can see the long list of members who want to get in so I will not repeat questions that have been asked about the salary but I would share many of the concerns expressed by the other members here today. It is a highly paid job and that is a significant pay increase to receive. In saying that, whoever gets the job has a tough road ahead of them considering that we had many problems in the health system prior to the pandemic. I do not believe matters have improved considerably so it will be a tough job for whoever gets it.

In the statement the Minister submitted to the committee he talked about the national recovery and resilience plan. I would like to touch on that, if possible. Last year, there was talk of the European green deal budget. I also heard a reference to the next generation European budget and now we have the national recovery and resilience plan. Can the Minister explain the relationship of those three funds? Are they the same names for the funds and will he explain how are we interacting with that European funding?