Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

As other Senators have asked, are there any other anomalies within the Department of Finance? While I do not want to put the Minister of State's officials on the spot, it is obvious that this section was slotted into this important legislation. Are there any other anomalies in the Department of Finance that should be dealt that? A former Minister has benefited quite substantially from this because he slipped up. No doubt there will be other former Ministers who will look forward to checking this legislation once it goes through the House. The section caters for a defined group of people — former Ministers. Perhaps the Green Paper on pensions is about them looking after themselves even more. We want to know whether there are other anomalies — there clearly are — of which the Government is aware and why they are not being addressed. Why has the Government singled out one of its Members for pampering treatment, which is why we have concerns? The Government claims it is putting Ministers on the same terms and conditions as other public servants. However, that is clearly not the case because a member of the Garda Síochána is a public servant. There were clearly problems regarding the change to superannuation payments in 1976 for a garda dismissed in 1973.