Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

With regard to those to whom it applies, it is stated that it will apply to a body that is wholly or partly funded directly or indirectly out of money provided by the Oireachtas or from the Central Fund or the growing produce of that fund. As I understand it, that extends the application of the pay cut not alone to direct employees of the State but to all those employed in the various voluntary sectors that are funded by the State, including voluntary hospitals and so on. Frankly, I find it difficult to see how this can be done given that the contracts of employees of those bodies is not with the State but the bodies which employ them. That is what the Bill says. The Taoiseach has not thrown any more light on the issue in his reply.

With regard to the Taoiseach's reply to the second part of the question that he does not know what will be the impact of this measure-----

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