Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

There is no big deal about it from any point of view. The audit report about which the Deputy is talking has been made available publicly, as has the Baker Tilly report on CIE.

With regard to the question of prurient interest, Deputy O'Dowd is absolutely correct. I apologise to him if he believes I was saying the salaries of chairpersons or chief executives of State bodies should not be made public. They should be made public, as should the bonuses. I have no difficulty with that. My point related to people working in the offices, harbour masters and those on salary scales lower than those of chief executive officers. One must balance a person's right to privacy with the public right to information.

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