Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The answer to the question I put is a clear "No," the Minister is not prepared to prioritise low and middle income workers and he was certainly not prepared to prioritise front-line staff. This is an ongoing discussion in which we continually ask the Government to name and deal with the minority who are overpaid. The agreement reflects the fact that the Minister is not prepared to do this, although he will put his hand in the pocket of a garda, a firefighter or a nurse. He has no difficulty in doing this. People should bear in mind that the cuts being made in respect of front-line workers and clerical grade staff across the public service have an impact in terms of the services delivered.

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