I have already said to the House that I will be gifting back €25,000 as a result of yesterday's decision. I have no difficulty in doing that. I am happy to gift it back to the State. It is coming from the salary I would have been entitled to receive at the commencement of my term as Taoiseach. I have also said that on an ongoing basis and at different times, I have gifted back parts of salary and gifted back an entire severance to the State. Again, I have no difficulty with doing that.

On the more general question of payment to public representatives, I take a rather different view from that of the Deputy. In terms of the pay of Deputies, for example, I understand it has been tied to the grade of principal officer for quite a number of years. That is the right thing to do. If politicians get into a competition as to who can bid lower, I think that would be detrimental to politics in general and, ultimately, would lead to more wealthy people becoming politicians, or wealthier parties with external sources of funding supporting their members, and fewer Independent Deputies getting elected on their own and fewer members of smaller parties which do not have the resources that some parties in this House have. Some parties in this House are far wealthier than others. In my view, there has to be a proper, proportionate approach to the payment of public representatives which guarantees the independence of this House from external influences and enables people to be elected.

We are way over time.

The idea of competing with each other to-----

I ask Deputy Paul Murphy to contain himself. We are over time.

I am not saying that at all. I am talking about Deputies.

I am calling Deputy Lowry to ask his question.

Deputy Doherty's constituency office is well funded. I understand some of the funding is from America.

That is scandalous. The Taoiseach has made a serious statement. If true, it would amount to illegality. He is doing so because he cannot defend the situation where, on the one hand, he is cutting payments for PUP recipients who are travelling abroad while, at the same time, standing over and defending the payments to himself and the super junior Ministers.

The Deputy is out of order.

He made an allegation about the funding of my constituency office.

The Deputy is out of order. I am asking him to please resume his seat.

I am asking the Ceann Comhairle to protect me in this Chamber, as a Member of this House representing the people of Donegal. The Taoiseach has made a serious allegation in regard to the funding of my constituency office, suggesting it is funded through illegal sources---

I never said that.

He did say it. He said it was funded from America. It would be illegal in this jurisdiction to fund the operation in that way.

I ask Deputy Doherty to resume his seat. Does the Taoiseach wish to clarify this matter?

I made no allegation in terms of Deputy Doherty doing anything illegal whatsoever.

I do know that it has been publicly said that there was American support of Sinn Féin constituency offices in Donegal.

That is incorrect.

If the Deputy is saying there was absolutely none, I will accept his clarification. However, that was publicly stated, on the record, and there were people thanking the benefactors who helped them to develop their office and so on.

That is a scurrilous allegation.

Just as, by the way-----

I have called Deputy Lowry.

The Taoiseach is making a scurrilous statement because he cannot stand up and defend the indefensible. He and his colleagues in government just voted to stop payments to people in receipt of the PUP who travel outside the country.

We cannot have a debate on that issue.

May I make a point of order?

There is no point. I ask the Taoiseach to resume his seat and to please wait a second. If Deputy Doherty is unhappy with what the Taoiseach has said, he should write a letter of complaint and the matter will be dealt with. What is the Taoiseach's point of order?

The vote earlier was on the Order of Business and how the schedule of business will proceed. It was not in relation to any specific proposal or any particular social welfare measure.

Thank you, a Thaoisigh. I have called Deputy Lowry.