Teachers were the spoiled brats of the public service, contended Mr Shane Ross (Ind). Several members had welcomed the decision of the Minister for Finance to capitulate once again to the demands of the public service, he complained.
Earlier, Government senators had voiced support for the Coalition's decision to raise public service pensions in line with public sector pay deals. Mr Ross said there should not be a blanket condemnation of the public service as a whole. But if the Minister had not capitulated to the teachers they would have been demonstrating outside Leinster House next Wednesday.
"We ought to distinguish between those in the public service who really need it, such as the nurses, and those who do not need it and are the spoiled brats of the public service, such as the teachers."
Mr Joe Costello (Lab) observed that hundreds of angry people were protesting outside the House despite the Government's claims to have delivered on public service pension parity. "Obviously this is not the case and considerable clarification is needed."