Collins: Pay hikes for senior civil servants ‘tone deaf’

WEST CORK TD Michael Collins says the government’s recent decision to grant substantial pay increases to two senior civil servants in the Departments of Housing and Children is ‘grotesque and tone-deaf’. 

The cabinet has approved an annual raise of €15,000 for secretary general at the Department of Housing Graham Doyle and €13,000 for Kevin McCarthy at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth. 

Independent TD Collins said Mr Doyle’s annual salary has now reached €255,000 but said that ‘homelessness has surged by over 33% during his tenure, reaching 12,847 people’.

‘These pay hikes reveal a disconcerting level of government disconnect which is both grotesque and tone-deaf,’ said Deputy Collins. ‘Rewarding top officials who oversee departments that fail in their fundamental duties to the Irish people is inexcusable.

‘The worsening housing crisis, marked by skyrocketing prices and surging homelessness, necessitates a thorough re-evaluation of housing policies and accountability, but instead, taxpayers’ money is used like confetti by ministers to curry favour with senior officials. These pay hikes reveal a government that fundamentally fails to comprehend the gravity of the situation, both on an emotional and logistical level.’