Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----have a clear set of straight answers on this issue. It comes down to what kind of remuneration will be offered to the lay members of the commission. I want to hear this. If it is to be €9,000 then it is a joke. If it is €40,000 it is getting serious. I want to hear from the Minister, on behalf of the Government, what kind of remuneration will be offered to these people. As I have already said, €9,000 gross turns out at €4,500 net. Divide this into 20 or 30 meetings per year and it is money for which no consultant would assist the committee for an hour. I want to know how serious is the commission proposal and the absolute litmus test for this must certainly be how much money the Minister is willing to give to these appointees to the commission, before the Minister allows the Public Appointments Service to place advertisements in the newspapers asking for interested parties to come forward. I put it to the Minister that if he pays peanuts he will get a certain species of animal. If the lay members of the commission are paid less than consultants per hour for sitting around a table, then the consultants would be making the decisions. That is what would happen.