Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 2 February 2022
Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
Estimates for Public Services
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure and Reform (Revised)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Revised)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Revised)
Vote 15 - Secret Service (Revised)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Revised)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Revised)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Revised)
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement (Revised)
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (Revised)
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire agus leis an Aire Stáit as teacht os comhair an choiste. I believe committees work better when witnesses are able to attend in person for the over-and-back discussion. While I understand that this is not always possible, now that we are moving towards asking people to work from their offices, it would be better, when possible, to have the witnesses and Ministers in the committee room for the debate. It is unfortunate that is not the case today.
As the Minister is aware, there is a large amount of information in the Votes, so I have a lot of questions I will try to get through. I will first focus on the report and letter sent by the committee to the Minister last week. We now know, as of yesterday, that the salary of the Secretary General of the Department of Health is now €298,000. This is a mind-boggling sum for all those who are struggling to keep their houses warm and the lights on. I want to ask about the €81,000 pay increase. The Minister and I have had many an over-and-back discussion on this matter and he knows my thoughts on it. The Secretary General has indicated he has now accepted this increase. Will the Minister confirm if the acceptance of this increase relates to this year only or if it relates to last year also?
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