Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This amendment is about ensuring that the Government can allow anybody who is entitled to the allowance already by virtue of attending the Cabinet as a Minister of State to draw down that allowance. There is a real stench of hypocrisy from some speakers in this House. Deputy Doherty argued that Ministers should be reducing their salaries. Sinn Féin Ministers in government in Northern Ireland accepted a pay increase in April. During the height of the pandemic their pay went up. I presume Sinn Féin Ministers will be marching into Stormont on Monday to rush through legislation because it wants to reduce the pay of Ministers. Sinn Féin MLAs did not turn up for work from January 2017 to October 2019 and claimed €4.7 million in a closed Parliament.

In 2014, BBC’s "Spotlight" programme investigated and reported that over a ten-year period Sinn Féin MLAs claimed £700,000 for Research Services Ireland, a company run by two persons who are also in charge of Sinn Féin’s finance department in Northern Ireland. The BBC "Spotlight" investigation was not able to find any evidence whatsoever of any research being carried out, and one Sinn Féin MLA, who I am sure got into trouble for this, when asked had not even heard of the company until it turned up on the Member’s expenses.

When one talks about equality, the Sinn Féin Chief Whip in this House receives an allowance almost twice that paid to the Whip for the Green Party, the Labour Party, the Social Democrats or Solidarity-People before Profit. I am sure that this information will not make the party’s Twitter video, but let us at least be honest and not hypocritical.

This is legislation to set up a new Department, and within the legislation the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has asked for the arbitrary figure of two to be removed in order that anyone who attends Cabinet as a super junior Minister can draw down allowances. Sinn Féin can use this to slur the Government if they wish. The objective here is very clear and, unfortunately, Sinn Féin has been silent on all of the inconsistent stances that its MLAs, elected representatives and Ministers adopt in Northern Ireland.

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