Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin Deputies are opposing this section. We have tabled an amendment. This section is silent and has not been referred to by any of the Ministers even though the Bill is only three sections long. What is happening is absolutely crazy. The Government has deemed it a priority to rush through an amendment to this legislation, legislation that Sinn Féin would otherwise be supporting and welcoming as has been pointed out by our spokesperson, Deputy Conway Walsh. Section 2 gives junior Ministers who are already on a salary of €124,439 an increase of €16,288. As I have said before in the past number of days, I do not understand how under God in the middle of a pandemic the Government believes this is the right thing to do. This was opposed by Fianna Fáil, which is showing the height of hypocrisy at this time. It is an example of why we cannot trust that party. The party website says that Fianna Fáil will vote against any legislative change which attempts to fund an additional super junior Minister post. However, every single one of them like sheep will walk in here and press the "Tá" button to ensure their super junior Minister gets an increase of €16,288. Deputy Eamon Ryan is no different. He is in the Official Report as the leader of the Green Party saying: "There are too many super-junior Ministers. I am sorry, it must be a very difficult decision and a hard call when some people have to lose jobs but there are too many people around the Cabinet table." That is the reality of it. There are issues in respect of the constitutionality of the positions of super junior Minister in the first place. I ask the Minister to outline how the position of super junior Minister and indeed this section of the Bill are consistent with the principles of collective responsibility under Article 28 of the Constitution and in respect of the confidentiality of Cabinet deliberations.

This point has been made many times. We have seen social media posts from those on the front line asking whether the super junior Ministers could not just accept a clap instead. That might be a throwaway comment but all the Deputies who are going to vote for this increase for somebody who is already on €128,000 should just think about what our front-line workers have done over the course of this year. They should think of a registered staff nurse on basic pay who would have had to work every single day up until last Friday to get the equivalent amount by which they are going to increase super junior Ministers' pay this week. It is absolutely sickening. Ministers will give front-line workers all the plaudits, claps, nice words and all the rest. They should think of that staff nurse who had to go into St James's Hospital, Connolly Hospital, Letterkenny University Hospital or anywhere else from January right through to Friday of last week to earn the increase they are planning to give to super junior Ministers in this legislation. It is obscene and wrong. The pay of Deputies, Senators and office holders should be cut, not increased. If ever there was a time to be taking decreases rather than increases in pay, the middle of a pandemic is it.

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