Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

With all due respect, Government approval was required and that is the legal advice on it. The Taoiseach is responsible for the fact that this was not obtained and he needs to take action on that now.

With regard to enhanced severance payments generally, what is the basis for making an enhanced payment to somebody who leaves under a cloud? It seems that this option is being used in situations where somebody has not performed properly and needs to be taken off the pitch. That is completely unacceptable. The Committee of Public Accounts, in examining the whole FÁS debacle, made recommendations that new guidelines needed to be drawn up which ensured that any enhanced pension package would relate to performance. Is it the Taoiseach's intention to bring forward new guidelines to cover this kind of scenario? Does he accept that it sends out all the wrong messages if the Government intends to financially reward somebody who has not performed his or her duties properly?

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