Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

We have had two reports on public sector pay, one by the review body on higher remuneration in the public sector covering, among others, the Taoiseach and Ministers. In his case it awarded an increase of €38,000 and in the case of some departmental secretaries it awarded increases of approximately €60,000. We have a second report for lower-paid people in the public sector, which in many cases does not award any increase at all. Is there not something fundamentally flawed and unfair in a system of pay determination, which results in those who are at the highest level of pay getting very substantial pay increases and those at the lowest level of pay getting no increase at all? Do we not have a problem of low pay? The reply to a parliamentary question tabled by Deputy Ciarán Lynch shortly before Christmas established that approximately 1.5 million taxpayers have an income of less than the €38,000 the Taoiseach will get as a pay increase.

I challenge the idea that public sector pay should be determined by reference to the private sector. What has been happening in the private sector for some time is that those at the top end of the pay scale are going into the stratosphere in pay terms. There are chief executives of corporations and companies being paid more than €1 million a year. It was recently reported that the chief executive of a bank was being paid more than €4 million a year. Surely it is not intended for the public sector to follow that model. If it follows that model those at the higher end will continue to rise and those at the bottom end will have their pay driven down. In any event no comparison of that kind can be made between those in employment where monetary reward is traded off for security of employment and those in much more exposed employment where monetary reward is much higher reflecting that insecurity. I would like to hear the Taoiseach's view on the matter because we are creating two societies — those who are very highly paid and those on low pay.

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