Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his engagement yesterday, which was very informative. I have spoken to a number of secretarial assistants today, to whom his written response was circulated and which they are considering. It is always important to get feedback from the people concerned. Following the Minister's contribution yesterday, I do not think anyone will doubt his commitment to finding a solution that is right and fair. It is important that we send a strong message that we stand in solidarity with the people who work in our offices. Coming in here and paying lip service to that but then doing nothing is not good enough.

I do not want to be argumentative but I am somewhat disappointed that none of the Government Senators have co-signed any of these three recommendations. That is disappointing, but they speak for themselves and that is it. On the Opposition side of the House, there is clearly a lot of support for these staff. I am not doubting there is the same support from the other parties, whose Members can speak for themselves, but it has not been demonstrated by their signatures on these recommendations. That is disappointing.

It is worth pointing out again that for many of the secretarial assistants, their pay is their sole income. We need to be fair here, which is why I draw a comparison with what Oireachtas Members get in terms of salary and so on. We cannot advocate a policy for some that we do not live by ourselves. The Minister is very much aware of the pay scales for Oireachtas Members, the vouched and unvouched expenses that pertain and of all the financial supports available to us. Let us put that in one hand and consider it. Secretarial assistants and parliamentary assistants have a very personal role in that they deal directly with Members. There is little they do not know and it is a very close working relationship. They are, in effect, our personal assistants and our other arm. They support and organise us and most of us could not operate without them. Where secretarial and parliamentary assistants work successfully with Deputies and Senators, it is a professional partnership and it works well. They do an exceptionally good job. They also have the advantage that they know the system right across the Houses of the Oireachtas, and rightly so, in line with the requirement for openness and transparency. They are aware of what Members get and when they consider the conditions they themselves have to operate under, they can see it is very unfair. They are acutely aware of the injustices of the scheme and that is worth talking about.

Senator Higgins referred to the idea of a family-friendly Parliament and she is right in the points she made. Senator Gavan spoke yesterday about the living wage of €12.90 per hour. A living wage is one that is sufficient to maintain the normal standards of living. One of the secretarial assistants I talked to today, who travels in from the midlands, has three children. Hers is the only household income as her husband, through no fault of his own, has not worked for five years. He simply cannot get work. She is maintaining a home and mortgage and paying for her transport. There is no travel allowance, subsistence or fuel allowance for her. She is working in here and has to do all of that. She is proud and happy to do it but she is really struggling. We have to stand in solidarity with these people. We should remember that not everybody has two incomes coming into their home, directorships of a number of companies and other financial streams. That is not the norm for many people, which we in the Oireachtas sometimes forget. This is part of the case we need to make. I propose that we need a new title for the job of secretarial assistant. It is about more than just pay, which is linked to scales; it is also about the title and job description. We need to review the whole matter, with a new title, grade and pay scale for the job. That is an important point to make.

I have some figures to hand in regard to the annual occupational pension entitlements of secretarial assistants. For someone who has five years' service and whose pension is calculated at €6,827.30, his or her annual occupational pension will be €656.23, on top of the State pension. For ten years' service, some people can only expect an annual occupational pension of €1,312.46. Where they have 5 years' service and a pension calculation of €20,481.89, their annual occupational pension will be €1,968.69. Bearing in mind what politicians get for 20 years' service, secretarial assistants with a 20-year pensionable calculation of €27,309.19 can expect an annual occupational pension of €2,624.91. This is an absolute disgrace. I know we cannot look at issues out of context and there is more to the picture but this is the degree of the problem we have. As Senator Higgins said, most of this could be dealt with by accepting these recommendations, particularly recommendation No. 1.

I will finish now and not speak on this again. I have illustrated the point I needed to make. I want to stand in solidarity with these staff, as we all should. I hope everyone in the House will support these recommendations because they are reasonable and fair. I do not at all doubt the Minister's commitment in this matter, nor do I think these proposals will take in any way from what he is doing or the other processes that are running parallel to these discussions, which are also important. We should send a message on this issue. The Minister can take it from me that our secretarial assistants are listening to what we are saying in this Chamber today. They are expecting us to stand in solidarity with them and most of us are happy and comfortable to do so. I do not want to create a division in this House. I hope we all, across the House, can agree in principle on what is proposed in these recommendations. I do not want to divide the House over this. I want us to stick together and articulate the view that these people should be supported. I am happy to go along with the cost the Minister has set out.