Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I use today's Order of Business to ask the Deputy Leader of the House if she supports the comments of her party colleague, Deputy Marc MacSharry. Deputy MacSharry, on a salary of approximately €96,000, has accused public servants of laziness and using the Covid-19 crisis as an excuse to lie on the couch and watch box sets. Apart from the ignorance and offensiveness of those comments, it is worth remembering that those who are working from home are doing so because they are following public health advice. Public servants, like everyone else, have had to come to terms with sudden changes imposed by the pandemic measures. They have had to juggle childcare, a lack of appropriate working space, poor broadband and worrying about family members who may have underlying health conditions or elderly parents. For a member of the Government party to single out one group of workers and talk about them with such contempt is deeply offensive.

I have spoken to public servants who were very hurt by the Deputy's comments. These public servants have had to get up before daybreak in the early hours of the morning to get work done before children woke up. I spoke to others who are living in rented accommodation and sharing with individuals. They have had to work from bed as it is the only quiet place they have where they can work.

Every person on this island had to make sacrifices and some have made more than others. As a country we succeeded in suppressing the virus through collective action. For Deputy Marc MacSharry to insult one group of workers is to undermine that solidarity. Perhaps it was the Deputy who was catching up on box sets while the public and private sector workers kept this country running during the lockdown. He should make a public apology on the matter and I hope his party colleagues in this House call on him to do so.