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Seanad
‹ An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Public pay rises and water infrastructure

Summary

Senator Collins condemns large pay increases for State body chiefs while boil-water notices and underinvestment in water infrastructure continue, and notes overpayments to Ministers.

I want to highlight an unfairness and double standard that goes on in this country. The head of CIÉ got a bumper pay increase of €35,000, the head of Bus Éireann a bumper pay increase of €50,000, Irish Rail €75,000, the National Stud €60,000 and the head of Uisce Éireann a bumper of €100,000, and we have boil-water notices throughout this country. We have towns and villages where there is not enough infrastructure within the treatment plant to put any more businesses or houses on the scheme. I cannot fathom it. It came out a few weeks ago that ten Ministers had been overpaid. It was only in the media for a day, which was shocking considering no payment plan had been announced. They did not get letters, as the family carers who are struggling every day got a few weeks ago where Revenue were coming back to them stating they owed this much money. We have pensioners, carers and families at home who cannot afford their electricity bills. They cannot afford groceries. Some of them cannot afford to heat their homes with home-heating oil yet the State can afford to give these bumper pay increases to CEOs who are already on huge salaries. A lot of them are not doing what they need to be doing. A lot of these companies are not doing what they need to be doing. I cannot understand how these CEOs can get a pay increase when there are boil-water notices in towns and villages and while houses cannot be put into an area because of a lack of infrastructure at the treatment plant. I would love to have a debate in this House on the wastage of public money and how it can be used for the good of the people of Ireland and not for these CEOs. Some of them are doing a great job, but some of their companies are not being run the way they should be. If they were private companies, those CEOs would be gone.

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