Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

A lot has been said about this Bill by every other speaker here and I just want to add my voice to that. The Minister has his beef with Sinn Féin and he can outline whatever his concerns are with that party, but that does not take from the fact that what he is doing in this Bill is completely wrong. He can attack us, the Social Democrats and everyone else in this House who says this is wrong and this should not be happening. If Ministers are attending the Cabinet, however, it should be an honour for them to do so, to be there and to participate in running this country. That is what it should be about. There is no doubt that all of us in this House are all extremely well paid. It should be enough for any of us to have a say and to be sitting here and participating in how this country is run.

Others can bicker across the floor and whatever it is they want to do, but it is a sad reflection on the Minister and his Government that they are bringing this forward in this way. Basically, it is because the three parties that are now in government having to have three Ministers of State who have to get super junior Minister wages. That is what this is all about and that is the bottom line. It is not about anything else. It is about facilitating the three-party system in government and that is it.

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