Fury in Dáil at ‘devious’ change to Bill to give super juniors a salary top-up

A weekly round of applause should take place for “super juniors,” rather than paying a salary top up, the Dáil was told during heated criticism of a “most devious” provision in new legislation to ensure three Ministers of State who sit at Cabinet receive a €16,288 supplement.

The Dáil voted by 72 to 46 to pass the “nauseating” proposal which guarantees that Fianna Fáil Government Chief Whip Jack Chambers and Fine Gael Minister of State for Climate Change and Transport Hildegarde Naughton receive the €16,288 supplement on top of their ministerial salary of €124,439 for a pay total of €140,000.

Green Party Minister of State for Agriculture Pippa Hackett has a lower salary as a Senator and will receive the supplement on top of her ministerial salary of €106,898 for a pay total of €123,186.

Under current law only two Ministers of State who sit at Cabinet are entitled to receive the supplement but there are three super juniors in the tripartite coalition.

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The Opposition excoriated the Government after Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath got Cabinet approval to include the top up, in a “most devious” amendment to legislation establishing the new Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

Sinn Féin introduced an amendment to prevent the supplement but the Dáil voted by 72 to 46 to award the salary top-up.

Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty hit out at Fianna Fáil and the Green party who, in Opposition, had insisted they would vote against any move for super junior supplements but Mr Doherty said “this is the time to be taking decreases not increases in pay”.

He said it was outrageous that the Government deemed it a priority during a pandemic to give this €16,288 supplement.

The party’s higher education spokeswoman Rose Conway-Walsh said it was “really repugnant” to hard working people and “surely €2,884 a week is enough for someone to live on”.

But Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris rounded on Sinn Féin and said there was a “stench of hypocrisy” in their calls for Ministers to reduce their salary when Ministers in the North had received a pay increase in April.

And he said Sinn Féin MLAs claimed €4.7 million when the parliament was closed and over 10 years claimed £700,000 for research with no evidence that any research was carried out.

Mr Doherty retorted that the Government was asking the House to change the law to increase salaries.

Rise TD Paul Murphy who described the additional supplement as “scandalous” and picked up on suggestions on social media that a clap would do instead, in reference to the weekly national public tribute given to frontline workers during the pandemic.

“Could we maybe have a round of applause on a Thursday night and would that not do it, because it’s meant to do it for health care workers and for Debenhams workers”.

He said “it’s mind boggling to people out there who see the crisis and unfolding economic depression and then see the Government voting to pay themselves more money”.

He said Fianna Fáil blocked the move when Fine Gael were in government. “What’s the difference now? What’s different is who has their snouts in the trough.”

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett gave a slow hand clap as he agreed that was what junior Ministers should get. The double standards were “frankly nauseating”.

He said if the Government wanted pay equality they should reduce the salaries of other Ministers.

Labour spokesman Ged Nash described the provision as a “move to keep all Government parties sweet”. He said it was “most unfortunate to say the least and does not sit with well with the public in these very straitened times”.

He appealed to the Government not to revert to the days of “the largesse of Charlie McCreevy and Bertie Ahern” by giving Ministers of State policy and press advisers costing “millions a year to the exchequer”.

Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall said it was a mistake “and a negative in what should be a very positive Bill”. She described it as a “slap in the face” to the public.

Independent TD Marian Harkin said she was “flabbergasted” at the move. She said it leaves a sour taste in everyone’s mouth and she told the Government “it’s not worth it”.

Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness said it would be better to have the higher education legislation “without having the drawback of having to pass the section of the Bill relating to junior Ministers.

“There is a need for a debate on the appointment of junior, superjunior and senior Ministers,” he said. It would give greater understanding to the people of the work being down by modern governments, which operated “in a much deeper way than before,” he said.

Tipperary Independent Mattie McGrath said he remembered when there was only one super junior Minister sitting at Cabinet.

“We want to show example to the people out there who are suffering. It is just not fair or right.”