Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Following on from Senator Bacik's contribution, I wish every one a happy Yeats's Day and pay tribute to my colleague from Sligo, Senator O'Keeffe, for a great initiative in the setting up of Yeats's Day. It is something that can be grown, not just in terms of a festival for the north west as the contribution of Yeats is something on which Ireland can capitalise throughout the world. We can see the success of the work of Senator Norris with Bloomsday and what that has done for Dublin in particular, as well as the country at large. In that regard, Senator O'Keeffe is owed a debt of gratitude from all of us. Well done to her.

I call on the Leader to arrange a debate on the Haddington Road agreement. Media reports today indicate that there are 350 employees of the HSE who earn more than the Taoiseach. It is particularly unsettling that a full third of the 94,000 employees in the HSE earn less than €30,000 per annum. It is not justifiable to have almost 400 elite members of staff, some of whom are earning up to €400,000. There are quite a few earning €350,000 and a lot earning more than €200,000. There is also a significant number earning more than €80,000. We need to look at rebalancing the pay scales in the public service to make them more consistent. It is right that the salaries of public servants, and politicians in particular, should be reviewed and set independently and reduced in accordance with the demands of the economy of the day. It is one thing to do that in these Houses but we cannot preside over a situation where 30,000 people in an organisation are paid less than €30,000 per annum while a small elite within the same organisation are paid up to €400,000.