Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I wish to raise an issue raised by Deputy Tom Fleming in the Lower House last week in connection with the payment of more than €1 million to one particular consultant and other high payments of six-figure sums to others. The answer given by the Minister for Health was far from satisfactory. He said that while it would be inappropriate for any Minister to intervene directly in matters relating to prices, he had concerns about the level of claims, in particular, the cost of services being provided to and paid for by the VHI.

Many people have opted out of health insurance because of the escalating cost. The cost is a direct result of medical inflation in recent years, not least of which is the huge increase in salaries. I suspect the particular individual was probably in receipt of another €250,000 from the State if he was in the pay of the HSE for hospital work. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Health to the House as a matter of urgency to debate the issue. It is one thing to reduce the salaries of staff on modest incomes for the optics value but people who earn six and seven-figure sums are getting away with no account being taken of their earnings. If the Minister will not intervene to correct the profiteering that is going on within a number of the professions, who will do it? There is no other port of call for the matter to be corrected, other than the Minister.

In reference to what Senator Rónán Mullen said, we all took note of the statement made by the judges over the weekend. Judicial independence is paramount to the judicial and democratic system, but that does not imply that the Chief Justice should be paid €130,000 a year more than the Chief Justice in the United States or that Supreme Court judges in this country should be paid €100,000 more than their counterparts in the United States. Everyone must put his or her shoulder to the wheel. I call for the Minister for Justice and Equality to come to the House to say what exactly he intends to do about the fairly scandalous situation of fees within the legal profession.

I tabled a motion with a quarter of Senators in the previous Seanad on bringing the escalating cost of tribunals of inquiry to account. I could not get a sufficient number of Seanad colleagues to bring the motion to the floor. That is unacceptable. We need to change that culture in the interests of people who are struggling to make ends meet.