Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá ceist agam faoin reifreann sa Ghréig. Will the Government allocate time on Wednesday for a debate on the referendum in Greece? It is one of the seismic events in the history of the European Union. A very courageous stance was taken by Greek citizens. The vote rejects austerity and is an endorsement of efforts to secure a debt write-down. Given the consequences for the EU and particularly for citizens of this State, I ask the Government to allocate time to debate it.

The other issue I wish to raise is the Haddington Road agreement. Will the Minister confirm that former Ministers and taoisigh are to get an increase in their pensions under this agreement as part of a side deal agreed by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin? Last week, the Fine Gael and Labour parties voted in favour of taking money out of the pockets of lone parents and today the Dáil will debate the civil debt Bill, which allows money to be taken out of wages, welfare payments and pensions to pay for water charges and other utility bills. Meanwhile, Dublin City Council is facing a shortfall of €18.5 million for tackling the homelessness problem and will run out of money in October. A total of 67 families were made homeless in Dublin in May and 65 were made homeless in June, while there are over 1,000 homeless children. The House should consider this in the context of the new pension agreements for Ministers and former Ministers and taoisigh and the Minister's claim that he cannot prevent it.

Will the Minister accept that significantly increasing pensions for politicians is entirely unacceptable? Has any of this been equality proofed? Will the Government take whatever steps are appropriate to reverse this situation?

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