Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Government did not provide a quorum. Anyway, Joanne was in the House recently and was due back today. As a result of the pay apartheid and the two-tier pay structure for new entrants, over the course of 40 years she will lose €240,000 that she would have earned otherwise. That is the price of a house. Alison, who started in 2011, was hit by the earlier FEMPI legislation and will lose €100,000 on the same basis.

I was at the consultation provided by the Minister, Deputy Coveney, on how there was no investment in housing. The economist explained that one of the reasons is because no one believes that people have the money or can afford to buy houses. Why can they not afford to buy houses? It is because we have taken the equivalent of the price of a house out of the pockets of these young teachers, nurses and public servants and intend to continue to do so. That is wrong and it is also fuelling the ongoing housing and accommodation crisis. The Government should give them back their money. We can afford it and it would actually be good for the economy.

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