This morning people are reading in the newspaper that the HSE is backing down on the issue of excessive salary top-ups for senior managers of voluntary hospitals and section 35 organisations, as they are called. The Tánaiste will recall that people were shocked in the recent past when they learned about the scale of the top-ups received by some of these individuals. They were even more horrified to discover that, in some instances, the top-ups were being funded through charitable donations. Last December, for example, we discovered that the chief executive officer, CEO, of St. Vincent's University Hospital was receiving a top-up of almost €140,000, in addition to a HSE salary of almost the same amount, with a privately funded car allowance of almost €20,000. We also discovered that the total bill for top-ups was €3.2 million. The organisations that engage in this practice are fully funded from the public purse. Their employees are regarded as public servants. Front-line public services are strained after seven years of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour Party cuts. People could not and do not yet understand how such excessive pay was allowed for a small number within the public service. I remind the Tánaiste that the Government, like the previous one, was swift to introduce emergency legislation to drastically cut the salary levels of workers across the public service and the Civil Service, including those not just on modest salaries but low pay. Is the Tánaiste aware of the difficulties the HSE is experiencing in implementing public sector pay policy in these organisations? Will he inform the Dáil of the scale or level of this difficulty? What does the Government propose to do to ensure all of these individuals respect and comply with public sector pay policy?

I remind the Deputy that the issue of top-ups arose because the Minister for Health and the Government took an initiative to deal with it. It was the Minister for Health, in the first instance, who sought an audit of section 38 and section 39 agencies to examine the levels of pay of the top personnel in these agencies. The audit brought to public attention the top-ups being paid by some of the agencies to their chief executives and senior personnel. The Government's position is clear. The pay caps established must be adhered to. Engagement has been ongoing for some time between the HSE and the agencies on the levels of pay of some of the chief executives. I read the article in the newspaper this morning. I understand from it that there are a number of cases in which there are contractual arrangements that must be examined. I am not familiar with the detail of these contractual arrangements, but I am sure the Minister for Health would have no difficulty with addressing these issues in the House and responding to questions that arise.

This is not just an issue for the Minister for Health but particularly for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin. It is also one for the Tánaiste and the Government. I am sure the Tánaiste is no different from me in that public servants still write to him and recount the level of difficulty they are experiencing following a series of very significant pay cuts and the imposition of a pension levy. I am sure they write to him, as they do to me, to tell him that, in many instances, they reckon they would be better off out of work than in work. That is the position for many in the public service and the Civil Service.

The Tánaiste is correct that an audit was conducted and that serious difficulties were identified on foot of it. The question is what the Government will do about it. The HSE has signalled clearly that it has run into difficulties with a number of the individuals concerned and it cites contractual obligations. Will the Government introduce emergency legislation to ensure all of the people concerned are in full compliance with public sector pay policy? In other words, will it ensure there is consistency, that what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander and that two levels or standards do not apply within the public service and the Civil Service? That is what the average clerical officer expects the Government to do. As there are difficulties, will the Government introduce emergency legislation and when does it propose to do so?

First, it is precisely because the Government believes there should not be two standards that it initiated the audit of section 38 and section 39 agencies to ensure they complied with public pay policy. The Government's position is that there must be compliance with public pay policy. I acknowledge, of course, the very strong feelings among many people who work in the public service about their pay levels. For that reason, when we negotiated the Haddington Road agreement last year, we ensured there would be no reduction in pay for those whose salaries were under €65,000 per annum and that where reductions were made on a progressive basis beyond that figure, there would be a way, for those earning between €65,000 and €100,000, to have that pay recovered over a period of time. That is built into the agreement.

I cannot speak about the specific individual contracts referred to in the newspaper article this morning, but if the Deputy wishes to pursue the detail with the Minister for Health, he would be happy to come to the House-----

Will the Government legislate?

Let us establish the facts first.

The facts are established.

I know that the facts and the truth are matters the Deputy does not bother with because she jumps to conclusions straightaway, but let us establish the facts first. That is the reason I suggest the Deputy table a question about the individual contracts to the Minister for Health.

I am sure he would be able to respond to it. We should be clear about the policy issue. The Government established caps and restrictions.

And broke them.

Sorry, we are over time.

We did not. Stick with the truth. Why does Deputy McDonald have such a difficulty with the truth? The reason we are dealing with these salaries for these agencies is that the Government decided in pursuit of its public pay policy to conduct an audit of the agencies and to pursue it through the HSE. That is what is being done.

So legislate for it.