Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Nobody should be surprised because this is straight out of the Fine Gael playbook - delivering for those in high places while ordinary people struggle to make ends meet.

This would be a bad call at any time, but there is something twisted about allowing big pay hikes for wealthy bankers while workers and families endure an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. It is a real kick in the teeth for ordinary people.

There was a segment on RTÉ radio this morning, which was absolutely heart-breaking. It contained interviews with people who now rely on food banks to ensure that they and their children get a decent meal. One woman spoke about how she will have to go into debt on household bills in order to ensure that her kids have a nice Christmas. Is that not an awful dilemma for any parent? However, that is the reality of what people are facing as Fine Gael prepares to resume leadership of the Government by looking after the top brass in the banks.

We have all been here before. We have seen where gratuitous pay of bankers and the self-serving behaviour of big banks led us before. It led us to financial disaster, economic crash and social catastrophe. For the banks, it meant an enormous rescue package funded out of public moneys to the tune of €45 billion. For workers and families, it meant austerity. For the most vulnerable, it meant the most vicious of cuts. Fine Gael took away the respite care and bereavement grants and cut child benefit.

After all the damage was done, did the banks learn their lesson? Did they hell. No, they did not. We only need to look at the tracker mortgage scandal, with thousands overcharged for their mortgages. Hundreds of people lost their homes and lives were destroyed as a result. Even when the banks were caught red-handed, they continued to do harm. This year alone, AIB and Bank of Ireland were fined over €197 million for regulatory breaches and actions that led to families losing their homes. The tracker mortgage scandal is not distant history; it happened in recent years. To this day, not one banker has been held accountable for this scandal.

Buille uafásach is ea cinneadh an Aire, an Teachta Donohoe, chun pá mór a cheadú do bhaincéirí, d’oibrithe agus do theaghlaigh atá ag streachailt chun teacht i dtír. Níor cheart leis dul ar aghaidh. The Minister for Finance's decision is essentially to reward top bankers despite all the damage that was done. He is clearly completely out of touch with what ordinary people are going through. Fine Gael is clearly out of touch with all of that. My question is simple. Why is the Taoiseach going along with this? How can he defend it? How can he tell those struggling to heat their homes or put food on the table that a banker’s salary of €500,000 is not enough?

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