David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

First, I must respond to Senator Byrne. This is not about making politics. One could argue that any point made by a politician is making politics. The question is whether or not one believes that setting a cap is the right or wrong thing to do. Sinn Féin believe it is the right thing in this instance.

I am conscious of the perception of public servants. It is for that reason that we seek to have a cap introduced. There is a popular perception that almost every public servant is in receipt of a very generous pension but that is not the case. I do not know if the number of those affected is small. I have asked for the figure, and party colleagues in the Dáil have submitted parliamentary questions asking how many people would be affected by the amendment - that is, how many are in receipt of a pension in excess of €60,000. Former Ministers and Secretaries General certainly are. Many people are in receipt of pensions in excess of €60,000. When the size of such pensions comes into the public domain, especially when the figures are in the region of €100,000 or €130,000, and people see former members of the upper echelons of the public service, particularly former politicians, receiving pensions of more than €2,000 a week while the newspapers contain reports of representatives of the IMF saying people on social welfare should take a hit, carer's allowance should be cut or the medical card should be limited, they see the unfairness of the pension system. The Minister asks why we picked the figure of €60,000 and why we want to put it into legislation that will remain in place for ten, 20 or 30 years. The Government picked the figure of €250,000 as a public sector pay cap.