Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Bill and thank the Minister for bringing it to the House. It is probably the most botched legislation the Government has ever brought in to deal with our role as public representatives. Senator Boyle was right to ask what a public representative should be paid. This is a PR exercise on the part of Government to save face by using politicians as guinea pigs, or as camels to ride into the sandstorm. As the Leader is fond of saying, it is a privilege to be a Member of Seanad Éireann and it is an honour for me to be elected by the electorate of Cork County Council and Cork City Council. We are an honourable profession and we should never be ashamed to say so. The six of us present in the House tonight represent the people. We work unsocial hours and would do it for nothing if we could get elected.

As Senator Boyle said, the old system is being laid to rest. The salaries paid to the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, Ministers of State and the Attorney General are absurd. One can add the cost of advisers or hangers-on, whatever one may wish to call them. President Obama published the amounts of money paid to a number of his advisers and they were considerably lower than the amounts paid to advisers to the Minister of State, the Taoiseach and other members of the Cabinet.