Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Okay. According to Paul Sweeney in a recent article in The Irish Timesentitled 'Super rich or super angry: where are you on Ireland's income pyramid?', it would take a person on the minimum wage 8,836 years to make what that gentleman makes in remuneration in just one year. Other incredible earnings disclosed by companies listed on the Stock Exchange in 2013 included €12.2 million for the chief executive of Tullow Oil, €7.32 million for the chief executive of Kerry Group and €6.98 million for the chief executive of Smurfit Kappa. Compare these outrageous, outlandish and disgraceful figures to the measly €17,542 per annum that a person on the minimum wage receives.

I am proposing that the executive pay project will seek to establish a process whereby excessively high pay can be addressed at a policy and even legislative level by these Houses. Again, generating accurate information on the extent and levels of pay will be a key starting point for the commission. We should not be closing our ears and getting upset when we hear these figures. This is reality out there in the economy, as the Ceann Comhairle knows very well, given his business history. He knows a little about business, as do I. We need to know the facts. Actually, the working title for this Bill was "Paddy Likes to Know the Story", which I believe is one of the Taoiseach's favourite phrases. I am proposing that the commission will publish regular reports as part of this project and that it would prepare recommendations on the introduction of measures such as caps or pay ratios to halt the excessively high levels of pay awarded to executives, particularly in the private sector and to promote much fairer income levels for all workers and citizens.

I believe the establishment of the High Pay and Wealth Commission will be a very useful first step and a welcome addition to the economic research landscape. Its aim is to ensure that when Ministers come into this House they know what they are talking about in terms of income and taxation. That will allow us to have proper debates at budget time, rather than situations like we have just seen this morning where we are scared to talk about levels of income and wealth in this society.

See this speech in context