Séamus Healy (Tipperary, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

The response from the Minister of State is incredible. He dealt with none of the issues raised by any speakers nor any of the queries about Ministers who, in recent years, declared the emergency over. He did not address wealth in this country, the reduction in pensions, the increase in pension contributions, which is in effect a cut in pay, or the pay apartheid introduced by the Government.

The facts are very simple. Any individual with common sense would know that those who are already wealthy made a killing during the crisis in Ireland and afterwards. They have made huge gains in terms of personal income and assets. As a result, Ireland is the eighth wealthiest country in the world.

Teachers, nurses, doctors and gardaí are all affected by the pay apartheid in the Bill, which the FEMPI legislation introduced. The Minister has not referred to any of those issues. He simply read out a very short script given to him by officials. He made no attempt to explain why emergency legislation must be kept in place when his Government and party went to the people in February 2016 and declared that we must keep the recovery going.

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