John Kelly (Labour)

I do not normally read the newspapers and come in to this House to discuss their headlines but on this occasion I will do so. Over the past several days all one could read in the newspapers were stories about special advisers to Ministers getting pay increases, which is outrageous given that they are already well paid.

In one of yesterday's newspapers it was reported that expenditure on special bonuses for staff was €652,000 in the HSE, €559,000 in the Revenue Commissioners and €329,000 in the Department of Social Protection. Why are these bonuses paid? I cannot see why somebody in the Department of Social Protection or Revenue should be entitled to a bonus for doing a job that he or she is already well paid for. My biggest concern, however, is that the HSE is paying bonuses when nothing about the delivery of its services suggests that staff should be getting bonuses. I suspect that somebody in the HSE is getting a bonus for sticking within a budget. I am concerned about this because if these staff are getting bonuses to stick within budgets, the needy people of this country are being deprived of services.

When I go around rural Ireland to listen to communities complaining about the downgrading of their smaller schools, I have no answers when they throw this kind of stuff in my face. I call on the Leader to ask the relevant Ministers who are receiving these bonuses and for what.