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

The argument I have consistently made which the Minister might hear if he unblocked his ears is that this legislation and his efforts ought to be about restoring income for those under the €65,000 threshold. From talking to people who work in the Civil Service and the public service and some of their unions, I know that this is what they understood this was about initially. That is the rationale for my amendments - that one starts at the beginning and restores income for those under the €65,000 threshold. That would be an equitable and fair way to proceed. We should ignore the Minister's carry-on about solemn agreements iterated with all the solemnity he could muster; if he was true to his word and the position he had staked out initially, that is what the legislation would do.

The contradiction in the Minister's answer to me concerns Members of the Oireachtas. He says I am wrong-headed in seeking an exception for Members of the Oireachtas and members of the Government, but he himself has conceded the point in telling us that Ministers, including Ministers of State, will voluntarily forgo the moneys to be restored to them. It seems he has acknowledged the exception for Members of the Oireachtas but particularly members of the Government, but he is not prepared to insert it in the emergency legislation. That is wrong. Those in government who visited austerity on the population at large on a grand scale should not benefit from this legislation and I make no apology for saying this straight up. The Minister did not address the issue of former Members of the Oireachtas and former Taoisigh, Tánaistí and Ministers, many of whom are in receipt of eye-watering and indefensible pensions and some of whom were the authors of the wrecking of the economy and the ensuing emergency. I do not believe in any set of circumstances that they should have their lost pension income restored to them. That is the wrong thing to do.

On the Minister's general approach, I know full well that he will not accept my amendments, but it is important that these matters be stated. I will finish by saying to the Acting Chairman that, with all due respect, we are dealing with a group of my amendments.

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