I wish to apologise for the absence of the Minister, who is abroad, and on his behalf to present his speech on the Bill's Second Reading.
The remuneration of Senators, in common with that of Ministers and Parliamentary Officers and of course Deputies, has remained unchanged since 1968. Under the various pay rounds since 1968 other groups have had their pay increased on four or five occasions. The position of Parliamentarians calls out for redress and that is what this Bill proposes to do.
In bringing this Bill before the Seanad I am aware that the increases in remuneration proposed are likely to be subject to more criticism, much of it ill-informed, than the increases for any other group in the country would arouse. In the past one reason for such criticism was that the delay in making increases necessitated fairly substantial increases in the long run to compensate for depreciation in money values. The fact that there has been no increase in the pay of parliamentarians since 1968 means that once again relatively substantial increases have to be provided. There has also been criticism on former occasions of pay increases for parliamentarians on the grounds that they were free to vote themselves their own increases. There has been a call for the setting-up of some sort of independent tribunal which would determine the appropriate remuneration for Members of the Oireachtas.
The Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector were asked by the Government of the day in December, 1970, to examine and report on the levels of remuneration of members of the Government, Parliamentary Secretaries, Attorney General and Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann and the allowances of Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas. The report of the review body was submitted to the Minister for Finance on 11th July, 1972, and published on 9th September, 1972. Members are aware that the review body made a detailed study of the work of parliamentarians and also examined jobs in the higher levels of the economy generally. The outcome of this study was that they recommended substantial increases in the pay of parliamentarians.
These recommendations fell to be considered, however, against the background of the national agreement. This led to the announcement by the Government of the day on 27th October, 1972, that, because of the existence of the national pay agreements, it felt obliged to ask the Employer/Labour Conference to advise in relation to the extent to which effect might be given to the review body's recommendations on the basis of and for the duration of the national agreements.
A special committee of the Employer/Labour Conference was duly set up to examine and report to the Minister. In its report dated 22nd December, 1972, the special committee indicated the rates which would be appropriate having regard to the general increases under the 12th round and the national agreement, 1970. This Government decided, as I stated on 20th June, that the new rates of remuneration should apply with effect from 1st July, 1973 — the date from which the increases in social welfare benefits announced in the budget were to be paid. The rates set out in the present Bill have been determined, in the light of the special committee's report, on the basis of the increases that applied throughout the public sector under the 12th round and the national agreements. These rates for the most part, in so far as office-holders are concerned fall well short of the rates recommended by the review body. For example, the review body recommended £654 more for Ministers than they are going to be paid.
There is no doubt in my mind that the revised rates which the Bill provides for are entirely justified. I am equally certain that, having regard to the prevailing national agreement climate, no more appropriate revisions could be made.
A Deputy's job is unique in that he is at all times at the disposal of the public. Any person who aimed at a nine-to-five job would be well advised to give up any idea of becoming a Deputy. The Deputy has no claim to overtime pay and despite the fact that his job may require him to write thousands of letters on behalf of his constituents he gets no allowance for secretarial services. All expenses that arise in the course of the job by way of entertainment have to be met from his parliamentary allowance. I have laid so much stress on the Deputy's role because the Deputy's rate of allowance sets the standard by reference to which a Senator's allowance falls to be determined. What I have said about the Deputy's job applies to a greater or lesser degree to many Senators. I am satisfied that the revised rate of allowance provided for Senators in the Bill represents an appropriate measure of their due by comparison with that of Deputies.
The arguments I have used in relation to Deputies apply with even greater force to members of the Government. Because of their total commitments to office, the continuity of their business or professional interests is broken. A Minister is responsible for the direction of his Department and for the formulation of policy on those aspects of national life that are directly related to the operations of his Department. He has also the task of explaining these policies to the Oireachtas and the public. He may be obliged to travel abroad on official business at frequent intervals. Nowhere else in the economy is there a post, either at managerial or directive level, which carries greater responsibility or imposes greater demands on the occupant. Despite that fact a Minister's salary, even as increased under this Bill, will still lag well behind the remuneration of the top managers in commerce or in industry, or of the leading lights in the professions.
In common with Ministers, the Attorney General, who is of course a member of the Dáil, has agreed to refrain from involvement in any other business or profession for the duration of his appointment. It has been decided, therefore, that his remuneration and pension should be brought into line with the remuneration and pension of Ministers. The salary for an Attorney General who is not a Member of the Oireachtas is being dealt with in the same way as the other salaries and allowances covered by the Bill, that is to say, by the application to the existing rate of salary of the increases provided under the 12th round and the national agreements.
A further provision in the Bill enables increases in the allowances of Deputies and Senators and in the salaries of Parliamentary office-holders to be granted in future by way of Government Order instead of by Act of the Oireachtas. The amending provision requires the Government to lay before the Dáil a draft of any such order and if the Dáil disapproves of the draft order within 21 sitting days the order shall not be made. The essence of parliamentary control is, therefore, being maintained. In a situation where Members' remuneration is affected by national pay agreements it is clearly desirable that the delays which take place between the decision to introduce legislation and the final passing of the legislation should be avoided. There is no good reason why increases in remuneration of Members of the Oireachtas should be subject to obstacles which are not placed in the way of any other section of the community.
This Bill also provides for a substantial increase in the rates of allowances paid by way of contribution towards the secretarial and research expenses of the Opposition parties represented in Dáil Éireann. The allowance payable to the current Opposition party will be £25,000, an increase of 66? per cent on the current figure of £15,000. Up until 1968 the allowance paid was intended to help towards meeting the secretarial expenses only of the Opposition. The 1968 Amendment Act provided for an increase in the provision for secretarial expenses and, also, for the first time for a contribution towards the cost of research and administrative services. This Bill follows that precedent.
The Bill also provides for the first time, for the payment of allowances to the leaders of the Government parties. In their case, however, since the provision of research and administrative facilities does not arise for the Government parties in the same way as for the Opposition, the appropriate rate of allowance is being fixed, in any particular case, at 40 per cent of the rate payable to the leaders of the Opposition. The Civil Service can, of course, be relied upon to provide the Government with the necessary backing in research.
The remuneration of Members of the Oireachtas has not been increased since 1968. The increases now proposed are in line with the increases given to public servants generally under the 12th round and the national agreements. For these reasons, I think that it will be generally accepted that the increases provided for in the Bill are entirely justified and I recommend the proposals in the Bill to the House.