Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

A Leas-Chathaoirligh, it is not normal to pre-empt other Members' questions, especially when time is limited. However, I will respond to several of the questions raised by the Deputy. She is of the view that there should be a general salary cap of €100,000 across the public service. That would mean no doctor, researcher, academic or senior administrator would earn over €100,000. The problem is we would not get people of quality into the public sector as the marketplace would pay more than this. On that basis, we would only have a private health system for those who could afford access to it because we would not have people working in the public health service at that pay rate, by and large. That is a simple fact.

The normal way in a progressive society to deal with these matters is not to look at net pay. Most progressive parties do not distinguish between public sector and private sector workers in these matters. A progressive taxation system deals with income, whether one is in the private or the public sector.

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