Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want, first and foremost, to thank the Leader for deferring statements on defence until after the review of the Public Service Pay Commission is published. There was no point in having it today so I thank him for that.

I also commend the flag officer of the Naval Service on having the courage to take two ships out of service because he did not have crew to man them safely. That would be a brave decision for any commander of a unit to take. I understand some aircraft have also been taken out of service but I am not sure of the numbers.

I mentioned the issue of PRSI for public representatives and I was accused of considering an election that may be coming down the line. I am not concerned about those who lost their seats for election purposes. People who have been paying 4% of whatever allowance they have had for the past five years are now finding that they cannot avail of social welfare benefits when they have lost their seats and that is not fair. We should have an open discussion, possibly in the autumn, on the issue of PRSI and how it applies to public representatives in particular. I ask the Leader to put that on the back-burner for early September.