Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Can I thank Ms Kerins for the sympathetic view she has of those of us who are ignorant of the full magnitude of her role? I can tell her that the public is well aware that Rehab is a group. We are well aware and well conversant in this committee with the variety of activities in which Rehab is engaged. I put it to Ms Kerins that she earns more than the President of the United States of America. She earns more than the Taoiseach, senior Ministers and people who hold very significant briefs. She operates in a sector and to an ethos, according to Ms Kerins, of social inclusion and social engagement. She relies on very large quantities of State moneys. In fact, they form the backbone and the bedrock of the entire Rehab enterprise in my view. She also relies on charitable donations - which we will come to in moment - and on the voluntary effort of people who get paid nothing. Seen through that prism, does Ms Kerins understand that it is very difficult to square the mission of the Rehab Group, its reliance on the State and on voluntary effort and contributions with a basic salary of €240,000 per annum. Is that an alien concept to Ms Kerins? Are we operating on completely different planets?