Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Last year, for example, some people obtained a special payment on that basis. That is the position regarding that matter. The total special service payments and seniority payments together amount to 1% of that Department's payroll, which is against the background of a 17% pay cut for those grades. To conflate that with what has been happening in the banking sector is not to compare like with like because it is not a discretionary payment.

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