Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann for allowing me in. I also thank Deputy McGrath for raising the issue of flat rate allowances, an issue I have raised in the past with the Minister and Niall Cody at the Committee of Public Accounts. I know that the Minister has stated it is an administrative issue for the Revenue Commissioners and that he is awaiting the findings of a review, but the issue is causing concern, in particular among a large cohort in my constituency. I am referring to the brave miners at Tara Mines in Navan, the largest zinc mine in Europe, which employs 620 people. In previous reviews they actually enjoyed an increase, yet there is a genuine fear among them that it could be removed in its entirety. Last month I spent an entire day with the miners. We were 900 m underground in the belly of the mine which is the deepest spot in Ireland. I saw at first hand the harshness of the working conditions they experience. I call on the Minister to recognise that the allowances are genuine. Perhaps he might journey underground and join me and the miners in the belly of the mine. With Niall Cody, we could all go together to see the harshness of the working conditions experienced by the miners.

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