David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach is worth every single penny and this kind of attack by politicians on one another brings the entire profession into disrepute. What does he get? Some €12,000 per month, €144,000 or €150,000 per year. He is running the country, making decisions that affect it and the well-being of every citizen and dealing with middle-range business people who have considerably more than him. There are people employed by the Government who earn considerably more than him. It is a nonsense to start carping at the amount of money the Taoiseach earns. Of course one can say that someone on the minimum wage would take the figures badly and so forth, but that has always been the situation. There are gradations. By establishing the low pay commission, the Government is doing something to address the situation over which previous governments sat and did nothing. I applaud this.

I do not agree with the Government's financial policies but to paraphrase Shakespeare, we are so far gone in gore or whatever it is that returning "were as tedious as go o'er". We are on a course. It appears that it will be successful within its own limits. Let us stick with it. Do not change horses mid-stream and do not have politicians endlessly attacking one another. The popular media will do that for us. They will go for wages, income and all the rest of it. I deprecate this. I work hard. Everyone in this Chamber does. We earn the money that the citizens have decided is appropriate for us. The Taoiseach has taken a cut of 40%. What more does Senator Daly want from him or us? It is ridiculous for politicians to attack one another when there are serious problems confronting the country and when, in the scale of business, the Taoiseach is getting a reasonable income for a very onerous job, for all the worry and for confronting all of the problems that he and this Government inherited. I do not agree with him, but I commend him.