Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to deal with the issue of the negotiations for the successor to the Croke Park agreement. I took note that the Government gave notice of compulsory redundancies in the public sector at the beginning of those negotiations and then the Taoiseach gave notice that he would legislate for pay cuts. He must know this is not the way to engage in good faith. Lower and middle income public sector workers have seen their pay significantly reduced between pay cuts and the Fianna Fáil pension levy, and there are now two, or perhaps even three, tiers of pay for workers doing exactly the same job. That is the type of inequality the Taoiseach is now deepening within the public sector. Public sector workers are generally working harder, longer and for less money, particularly those at the front line who have seen their numbers reduced during the past two years. By contrast, and here is the rub, those at the top have been protected. Bonanza pay and pensions remain in place-----

See this speech in context