Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What the Minister is saying is that his Ministers of State, on salaries of €124,000, need an extra €16,000 and he is asking us to change the law of this State to allow that to happen. Perhaps we can have a wee whip-around if we get Deputy Michael Healy-Rae’s cap to help out the poor Ministers of State who cannot survive on €124,000. That is the reality of this. The Minister is asking this House to change the law so that legislatively the Government can increase the salary for a Minister of State because he or she has the privilege of sitting at the Cabinet table, and for that effort and that alone, with no other responsibilities, he or she should get an extra €16,000. As the proposer of this motion, I ask that we move this to a vote.

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