Over a million people view Mayo TD's speech on 'super junior' pay hikes
Citizens are extremely angry about the €16,000 junior ministerial pay pise while so many on the ground are struggling.
That's according to Mayo TD Rose Conway Walsh.
"The deviousness in which it was introduced sneakily on the back of the Bill to establish a dedicated Higher Education Department is abhorrent,” the Sinn Féin representative hit out.
She continued: “Over a million social media views of the Dáil video of my outrage, and the many thousands of messages that I have received since, accentuate how irate people are at the misuse of taxpayer's money and disappointed to see that this department is getting off on the wrong foot.
"It is heartening that people are expressing their outrage.
"All this highlights the complete disconnect between this government and ordinary people.
“As the Sinn Féin spokesperson for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, I welcome the setting up of this new department.
"I truly hope that a dedicated ministry will mark a step-change in how third level education is delivered.
"People want to see a better and fairer third level education system.
“Our aim must be to provide the educational infrastructure to enable people of all abilities and ages to fulfil their full potential and contribute to a prosperous and progressive Ireland.
“There is a lot of work to do.
"Further and Higher Education have seen a decade of underfunding.
"We spend 50 per cent less per student than we did in 2008. Apprenticeships have been undervalued.
"The last government didn’t meet its own targets for apprenticeships.
“Being from Mayo, I cannot but draw attention to the investment that is needed for the Mayo Campus of GMIT in Castlebar.
“The department of education never wanted the institution to be established and have over the years done everything possible to ensure it would fail.
“I asked the minister to challenge the official attitude to this campus, to work with the president and her excellent team who, despite all the obstacles put in their way, do everything possible to create a responsive and dynamic Campus.
“It is not just the institutions that are buckling under pressure.
"Students and their families are also struggling as we have the highest fees in the EU.
"To give students and their families some breathing space, the government should reduce the Student Contribution Charge by €500 with the aim of phasing out fees completely including for apprenticeship and PLC courses.
“All forms of education should be equally valued and everyone should have the chance to follow the path that best suits them.
“Equality of access needs to be improved.
"The SUSI system needs to be reformed as a matter of urgency.
"Income thresholds are too high, the amount of support is too low.
"Adults, sometimes with their own children, who live at home with their parents due to the ongoing housing crisis, are excluded from applying based on their own income.
“The needs of students and their families should be our sole focus but at the 11th hour the government tacked on a €16,288 pay rise for a Super Junior minister who already earns €2,384 per week.
“The government making this a priority at such a time is repugnant to the hardworking people of this state.
"It’s even more disgusting when you consider the people who barely survive on the minimum wage, such as carers and assistant carers who the Government could not even afford to provide PPE gear.
“Sixteen thousand euro is the yearly salary of an apprentice, the annual stipend of a PhD student and five times the full maintenance grant for a year that is supposed to cover accommodation, food and travel,” she added.