Sinn Féin's John Brady Urges Fellow Wicklow TD Simon Harris To Come Clean On Overpayments

10 serving ministers have still not repaid substantial sums of taxpayers’ money more than seven months after overpayments were identified

Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow, John Brady, has called on Tánaiste Simon Harris to publicly declare whether he is among ten serving government ministers who have not yet entered a repayment plan for salary overpayments.

Deputy Brady’s comments follow revelations that ten ministers have failed to repay substantial sums of taxpayers’ money more than seven months after the overpayments were identified. Despite earning salaries in excess of €180,000, none of the ministers involved has returned any of the money, nor have they publicly acknowledged being among those affected.

Brady said the issue only came to light after Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty questioned Minister for Finance Jack Chambers at a Finance Committee meeting earlier this week. He described the delay as unacceptable, pointing out that ordinary workers and pensioners would never be shown similar leniency.

He stressed that the money in question belongs to the public, not the government or individual ministers, and said it was outrageous that senior members of government had been allowed to retain it for so long. Brady said the people of Wicklow, and the wider public, deserve clarity on whether the Tánaiste is one of the ministers involved.

He concluded by demanding that the ministers concerned come clean, provide the full picture, and commit to a clear deadline by which every cent of the overpaid money will be repaid, stating that nothing less would be acceptable.

Deputy Brady said:

“Ten serving government ministers - people earning over €180,000 - have still not repaid money they were never entitled to. Seven months have passed and not a single red cent has been returned by those ministers. The failure to return the money only came to light when Pearse Doherty questioned Minister Jack Chambers at the Finance Committee this week.''

Deputy Brady urged his constituency colleague, Tanaiste Simon Harris to come clean on the matter.....

“Not only have these ministers paid nothing back, so far none of them have even put their hands up to admit they are one of the 10. “That is why I am calling on Tánaiste Simon Harris to declare whether or not he is one of them. The people of Wicklow deserve to know.

He added that ordinary tax payers are being exploited and disregarded by such casual indifference:

“Ordinary workers and pensioners would not be shown anything like this indulgence. “This is taxpayers’ money. It is not government money and it is not ministers’ money. It belongs to the people. “The idea that senior ministers have been allowed to sit on it for seven months is outrageous and unacceptable. “These ministers need to come clean. The public deserves the full picture, and a definitive date by which every last cent will be paid back. Nothing less will do.”