Irish Examiner view: Decision on junior ministers' pay rise is tone deaf 

Hildegarde Naughton, one of three Ministers of State who received a pay bump.

There is a case to be made in support of the Government’s decision to give three super junior ministers a €16,000 pay supplement. As Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath pointed out, it would not be fair to give two super juniors a generous top-up, but not a third.

New legislation now ensures that all three ministers are treated equally. On top of their €124,000-plus salary, each one can claim €16,288 for sitting at Cabinet, a supplement that is almost €4,000 more than an Irish pensioner’s annual income.