Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)

I too welcome the decision of the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, to eyeball the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, over the weekend and the successful way he has forced it to back down in this situation. However, the Taoiseach should recognise that one victory of this sort does not sort out the problem. The semi-State sector has gone walkabout for many years, which predates his tenure in power, and we need a lot more than one victory. What Deputy Adams referred to as the bonus culture is eking out by the day as the annual reports are coming out that other semi-State companies are intending to pay similar bonuses. That is unacceptable.

When we look at the DAA we see a real example of abuse of power and a semi-State body having detached itself from the Government. We must consider the fact that this man, Mr. Collier, was being awarded a bonus of €100,000 in the same year that junior staff on €30,000 were being forced to take a cut in pay.

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