Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

Tá brón orm mar bhí orm seasamh amach as an gcruinniú ar feadh cúpla nóiméad. Gabhaim buíochas leis an mbeirt Airí as teacht anseo chun labhairt linn. To begin with I will speak to a report and I commend my colleagues on the EU committee on the good and detailed report that was considered and developed a number of weeks ago.

It is startling how there are two classes of people in the country today, the insiders and the outsiders. Most citizens have experienced approximately 31 separate price hikes over 2021 alone. Farmers have experienced a tripling in the price of fertiliser and home energy costs have increased by 50%. Inflation in November was at a 20-year high. In real terms, the vast majority of citizens have seen their income and purchasing power reduced over the past 12 months. These people have suffered in real terms. The Government has refused to deal with that income reduction by postponing the increase in carbon tax. It has refused to go to the EU to seek a VAT derogation on fuel, etc. It has instead offered people approximately €100 to deal with the staggering increases in the cost of living.

On the flip side there is another class of people, including a Secretary General who has seen an income increase of nearly 40% in the space of a year. That income has gone from €211,000 to €298,000. It would be a dream of most people in the country for that increase of almost €90,000 to be their total income. The report is quite clear that this was done and a figure was plucked out of the air without process or any international comparators. The Government had no system that could be verifiable or comparable and which could be measured or challenged in any way. The court of public opinion would see this as insiders very clearly looking after insiders. Is the new salary of the Secretary General in question a benchmark for other salaries in the public service?