Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)

The issues of support, research assistance and extra secretarial assistance will be matters for the commission. There is substantial extra monetary provision in the overall budget but far be it from me to pre-empt what the commission might decide. Senators have their own axe to grind. Senator Higgins was generous in his praise of the substantial improvements made in recent years in terms of the support Deputies and Senators have received. While there is more to do, it is a matter for the commission on which Senators and Deputies will be well represented. It will be up to them to make the decisions. It is parliamentarians who will make them and they will have the experience and good sense to decide what is best.

Secretarial assistants are paid from public funds provided for parliamentarians. That has been the case since the 1970s. It was only in 1996 that the arrangement was given legal cover when secretarial assistance was included in the facilities which could be provided. At that stage there was one secretarial assistant per three Senators. The position has improved but there is still scope to improve the numbers of support staff within the House.