Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I join colleagues in expressing my annoyance at the guillotining of the legislation last night. We all agree that rushed legislation can potentially be bad legislation and I hope it does not come back and bite the Leader. We should have allowed much more time for that debate.

I was surprised to read about the performance bonuses which will be paid to many people in the public sector. As somebody who comes from the private sector, I would be very surprised to see these bonuses paid as a matter of course. I have no problem with bonuses being paid when they are performance driven and when the individuals have added value in the course of their work. However, a bonus should not be paid to somebody as a matter of course, and many people would agree with me. Will the Deputy Leader look into this?

One gentleman will receive a bonus of €200,000. That will be particularly distressing for those who have lost the social welfare Christmas bonus. That one bonus is equivalent to 1,000 social welfare Christmas bonuses. It is most unfair and is not the way we should operate. The Deputy Leader is a good man and I ask him to pass on the concerns of myself and other Members and to see if there is a way we can claw this back.