Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The cost to the State of running the Taoiseach's Department has also risen quite considerably since 1999, but it would hardly justify the Taoiseach being paid the same salary as he was paid then. Some of the cost to the State associated with the asylum process was not very prudent expenditure on the part of the State. Hotels were bought that were never used. If we want to go down the road of what it has cost the State, a different argument can be made.

The fairness or otherwise of our system is not the issue I am raising. This is a small amount of money; €19 per week covers people's bus fares and other incidental expenses, such as whether they want to buy their children a gift for Christmas. I am disappointed at the Scrooge-like response of the Taoiseach this morning. I did not honestly expect that there would be resistance to it. This issue has been overlooked and the payment has been stuck at that level since 1999. These people have no political clout as they do not have a vote and, therefore, they are not exerting political influence. Many of them have come here from very trying situations in their own countries, perhaps fleeing latter-day Herods. They are not allowed to work here and they simply have to sit there while their asylum cases are being processed. Some of the processing can take a very long period of time.

I ask the Taoiseach to look at this issue generously. It is not a substantial amount of money and it will not involve a significant cost to the State. It will only bring the €19 payment up to what it would have been in real terms in 1999. It is not an outrageous demand and it could be readily agreed to. I ask the Taoiseach and his Government to agree to it before Christmas.

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