Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Two or three issues arise from the Deputy's question. I agree with her that the bonus payments, characterised by some payments in senior banking positions, are deplorable. That these increases are occurring in international financial markets is a cause of common concern among many European Finance Ministers.

Concerning the comparators used by the body in question, the review and benchmarking bodies compared public sector jobs with jobs of equal value in the private sector, but not necessarily senior executives in banks. The review body found that the salaries of many senior public service posts — we will leave Ministers out of the equation for the moment — were below private sector levels even when allowance was made for the value of pensions. It was on this basis and in respect of the lower quartile of the private sector rates that the commission worked.

At this stage, I am not prepared to be more definitive concerning the Government's position because it is important that the negotiations on social partnership should occur between the relevant partners. The Taoiseach has made clear that the matter has been placed on the agenda. This is as much as I can state at this stage.

Regarding Ministers' positions, Deputies have an arrangement whereby their increases are made automatically because they are linked with a particular grade in the public service.

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