Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach said the same rules must apply; they do not apply. There seems to have been a vow of silence on the issue in the lead-up to the Haddington Road agreement. I recall the major attack on allowances by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, which went on for six to nine months without any mention of these super allowances for people at the top. The concentration was on the footwear allowance, the clothing allowance and cuts to EMTs and extra allowances for emergency workers on the frontline. That was the entire focus. A letter written on 18 June from the national HR unit at the Department of Health to the national director of human resources at the HSE calls for the application of the reduction in remuneration to certain public servants on salaries of €65,000 and above. The table afterwards relates to the HSE element of the salary and is silent on anything outside of that. It seems that there was an awareness of these additional top-up allowances but people left well enough alone during the Haddington Road agreement negotiations and during the Minister's review of allowances.

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