Fairness of government cuts
Deputy Adams argues that household charges and cuts to lone-parent payments unfairly distinguish between citizens while rewarding a highly paid adviser. The Taoiseach repeats that he acted properly in sanctioning the appointment and challenges Adams to identify what was wrong.
I asked the Taoiseach to explain not about the authority vested in him but why he is prepared to do this and how he can introduce these cuts. In his convoluted way he has explained when a cut is not a cut. It is not a cut when the person is a former adviser to Fine Gael and is being employed by one of the Ministers. I refer to the enormity of this sum for ordinary people. The Government will impose a household charge of €100 and cut payments to lone parents. These are choices that the Government makes and it is not fair. It is wrong and the Taoiseach knows it is wrong to give one citizen €35,000 extra and to take money from those who are most vulnerable.
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My question is very simple. How can the Taoiseach make a difference between one citizen and another citizen on this, the anniversary of the treaty in this Republic? What value citizenship, what value equality and what value dealing with people with fairness?
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If Deputy Adams wants to have a discussion about 6 December 1921, I will have a discussion with him and on many of the years in between.
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The Taoiseach should get with it today.
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Deputy Adams comes in here and starts off in Irish, German and Spanish or whatever language he wants to speak and that is perfectly fine by me.
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He is not charging the taxpayer to learn it.
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Then Deputy Adams makes the charge that it is wrong and unfair. One of my responsibilities as Taoiseach is to give sanction to advisers. In this case, a person Deputy Adams named and his party named, who is not here to defend himself, was paid well in excess of these guidelines when he worked for the party I lead. He was chosen as an advisor by the Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation because of his expertise and his ability. I sanctioned that.
The next time Deputy Adams stands up, he might be fair and might indicate that something is wrong. In the two-year period to the end of March, the Sinn Féin MPs claimed £969,328 in staff payments and Deputy Gerry Adams, before his election to the Dáil, claimed £106,880 for his staff in a Parliament he never attended.
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He will take the Queen's shilling.