Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

It is not grandstanding to say the Minister did not grapple with this issue, instead allowing this outrageous payment to go ahead. He also claimed there are other anomalies. What about the Secretary General of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation who is supposed to retire soon with a large lump sum? The seven-year tenure of the Secretary General in the Department of Education and Skills is also soon to end. Can we expect more of the same from the Minister, hiding behind TLAC, the top level appointments committee, while not exercising the legislative function as set out in existing pensions legislation?

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