Pay deal for top earners will bring its own degree of political poison

Over the closing months of 2023 and the early weeks of this year, Paschal Donohoe and his team ground out a €3.6 billion public pay deal with the public sector unions. It’s the kind of agreement that garners few plaudits once in place, but failure to strike a deal would have been politically toxic. Now, just a short while later, another pay deal is on the cards: this one much smaller in quantum, but with its own political risk attached.

Martin Wall reports this morning that top level executives in commercial State bodies such as RTÉ are likely to have their pay boosted following a Government decision to review their remuneration.

Its establishment arises from an independent panel recommendation for a new body to look at remuneration provided to senior civil servants, judges, high-level gardaí and military personnel, as well as hospital consultants – so the Government will point out this is no political ready-up for high-ranking insiders. However, the establishment of a new Senior Posts Remuneration Committee comes at a highly sensitive time, all stemming from the issue of executive and presenter pay at RTÉ. Why, it must be asked, is the Government pushing ahead with this now? If, as seems likely, top earning public servants are granted pay increases as this Government continues down the election path, it will come with its own degree of political toxicity.

Elsewhere, Jennifer Bray reports about a Government plea to publicly funded groups to avoid publishing material about the upcoming family and care referendums. This is a potential live one in the days after the referendum.

A week that shook Irish politics on immigration reminds us of our fragile relations with Britain

---

Government locks the stable door as migrant accommodation crisis bites

---

‘Hardcore’ group of far-right protesters stage demonstration outside Taoiseach’s home

---

Merrion Street vs Downing Street as very public spat over immigration becomes a gift to the Tories

---

Best Reads

Miriam Lord on a sparsely populated Dáil chamber on International Women’s Day

Marie O’Halloran reports on the Dáil exchanges during the same debate

Pat Leahy profiles the new RTÉ chair and board members

From London, Mark Paul reports on the headache presented for Keir Starmer by the election of George Galloway

Away from the politics pages, Tara Brady has a preview of a documentary (executive producers Serena & Venus Williams) on the precursor to Women’s soccer World Cups

Playbook

The Taoiseach is in Bucharest at a meeting of the European Peoples’ Party.

Action in the Dáil starts topical issues at 9.10am, followed by a Labour Party motion on Government housing targets being “simply too low” and calling on the Government to come up with an implementation plan and higher targets.

Leaders’ Questions is at midday, followed by Questions on Policy or Legislation. The Sex for Rent Bill is being introduced at lunchtime, before Government time is given over to statements on Seachtain na Gaeilge, rare diseases, legislation enabling the patent court referendum and other pieces of legislation working their way through the house.

The full schedule is here

Commencement matters in the Seanad are at 10.30am. In the afternoon, there will be statements on Seachtain na Gaeilge and to mark International Women’s Day. Sinn Féin Senators have a motion in the afternoon on the private rental sector, seeking to ban rent increases for three years.

Here’s the full running order

The housing committee continues its consideration of the Planning and Development Bill – hot on the heels of the opposition spokespersons on housing issuing a rare joint statement about the schedule imposed on the committee for dealing with the legislation. That’s at 9am, with Darragh O’Brien in attendance.

Stephen Donnelly is in with the health committee at 9.30am to continue the committee stage of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill. The finance committee is conducting pre-legislative scrutiny on the Access to Cash Bill with Age Action Ireland in the afternoon, while in the evening, the agriculture committee is hearing from officials on the nitrates directive, and the disability committee has the HSE in to discuss disability services – both kicking off at 5.30pm.

The full schedule is here

Sign up for Politics push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone