Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

Where did it all go wrong? Does this Fianna Fáil Government and its Green Party partners want to be remembered in the same way as Cumann na nGaedhael or will it return to its roots and even adopt the sort of approach being followed by President Obama in trying to stimulate the economy not by destroying ordinary people's living standards, but by injecting investment into the areas where it will pay dividends in jobs, spending and confidence?

With regard to the substance of the motion, of course it makes sense to reduce the numbers of Ministers of State and to tackle the issue that some of those who are nominally working for Departments are in fact performing constituency work for the Ministers in question. In a series of parliamentary questions to each Department regarding that issue, asking all Ministers for the number of civil servants engaged in constituency work on behalf of his or her Department, and the salaries, accommodation costs and expenses involved in or associated with these duties, it was disclosed that only the Ministers for State, Deputies Curran and Mansergh, did not have civil servants engaged in constituency work. In total there were 44 civil servants whose time was spent looking after the Ministers' constituency work rather than anything to do with the work of whatever Department employed them. As Sinn Féin's economic spokesperson, Deputy Morgan, said at the time in response to the information divulged, this use of significant numbers of civil servants for constituency work is an "outrageous squandering of the State resources". It is an abuse of privilege. At a time when the Government parties and Ministers are lecturing the rest of us on the need to accept cuts, and at a time when they are targeting low paid public sector workers in particular, it is ironic that they should also be cynically spending a significant amount of public money in attempting to protect their own Dáil seats.

The Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher, said that having civil servants in his constituency office was servicing his constituents. There are four Sinn Féin Deputies. We each have a person in our constituency offices. The one in my area is paid for out of my own pocket. At this stage between Ministers, Ministers of State, Chairmen, Vice Chairmen and conveners of committees, all bar two Members from the Government benches are covered. That is not necessary and is an abuse. It is also an abuse to have former Ministers and Ministers of State drawing ministerial pensions on top of their salaries. It is wrong and there is an obligation on all of us to speak out against such abuse.

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