Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I refer again to the way in which the decision was made to vary the application of the pay cuts in the case of the higher grades because I am unclear. As I understand it, the decision was made by the Minister for Finance and the Government was informed. Had the Minister discretion in the way in which the pay cut was applied? The Taoiseach explained the rationale for changing the way it was applied to assistant secretaries. If, for example, low paid public servants demonstrated that the effect of the pay cut would leave them worse off than if they were on social welfare, would the Minister have discretion to similarly vary the way in which the pay cut is applied?

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