Health secretary pay increase
Deputy Farrell challenged the planned €81,000 salary increase for the next Health Department Secretary General, especially alongside a tax bill for PUP recipients. The Tánaiste said the increase applied to the future post, not the incumbent, and had been agreed by the Public Expenditure Minister with the knowledge of the coalition leaders.
Last week, we found out that the Secretary General of the Department of Health is set to receive a pay increase of €81,000. In that same week, recipients of the PUP, who are on €350 per week, received their first tax bill. There are varying accounts as to how the decision was reached to provide for this increase and I would like the Tánaiste to outline the timeline of the decision-making process, including details on who was involved in the decision, when it was signed off on and who signed off on it.
Comment on this
It is important to say that this will be the salary for the next Secretary General of the Department of Health. The incumbent does not receive it. That job will be open to competition and people will be able to compete for it and for that new salary. As is the case with any salary of this nature, the decision on it is made by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, but he made that decision with the full knowledge and agreement of the three party leaders in government.