The problem is not helped by the fact that the pay of secretarial assistants is pretty terrible. It is unfortunate that we are introducing this legislation, which provides us with such a good framework, in the shadow of another mean, penny-pinching exercise on the part of the Department of Finance, which insists that new secretaries must start at the bottom of the clerical officer scale. Secretaries in Leinster House do a wide variety of work, which extends well beyond the normal definition of secretarial assistance. They can be constituency office managers, they frequently deal with the public and they often have a role in dealing with political parties or in the context of election. The job description is very wide and varies from individual to individual. To peg secretaries' entry level pay at the lowest level of the clerical officer grade is entirely unreasonable. Local arrangements must apply in this case. The job is quite different from that of a clerical officer anywhere else in the Civil Service and the pay rates should reflect that fact.