Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I asked the Taoiseach to accept the principle of pay equality, but he dodged the question. I listened to the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, say it beggared belief the ASTI would engage in industrial action. What beggars belief is that the Taoiseach thinks it is okay for new teachers to work for up to €8,000 a year less than their colleagues who are doing exactly the same job. That is why the teachers are out on the picket lines. In many cases, it is not because of their own pay scales, but because they are in solidarity with new recruits.

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