Thursday 24 May, 2012
THE FIRST ACT of the new Fine Gael/Labour government has been to announce a cut in ministerial pay.
The Taoiseach’s pay is to be cut by 6.6 per cent from €214,187 euro to €200,000, while Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore will earn €184,405 euro – down from €187,486.
The pay for the 15 new government ministers’ pay has also been recduced from €181,283 to €169,275.
Do these cuts go far enough?
Poll Results:
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This is offensive, God love Smug Enda on his 200k, how will he survive?? Day 2 an proof this crowd are the same as the last.
There right give them a chance it didn’t take 12 hours to get us in to this mess, at least he has made a start…..
Pauline I don’t expect them to work for nothing, I think 100k for Kenny is fair considering the economic situation. Fair point they have only started but these tiny pay cuts are useless. It’s not just about the money, it’s about sending a message they mean business, leading from the top down, cutting high paid salaries more than struggling nurses, Gardai etc. I see this as the first in a long list of decisions that are not radical enough to turn this country around. We’ll give them six months, 12 months and then the masses will realise this crowd are not brave nor smart enough to ‘change’ things. I honestly do hope I’m wrong, but don’t believe it.
Gav, there are many ps workers and semi states taking home over 100k and not just at exec level either, prison service staff as one example can earn those levels with allowances, shifts and ot. Do you really think that the CEO of Ireland Inc should earn less than many in the ps?
There needs to be a complete restructuring or lab costs in the ps and other sectors if we are to restore the countries ecomonic well being and reputation. This is just one small but important symbolic step in the process.
The reaction and cynacism of many is a damning reflection of the absolute distrust of the body politics that the gombermism and cronyism of the past 20 years in this country
It’s the same sh#t just different shovels. There is noway they will change the ministerial cat pool. In reality they will all need to be driven by someone with a firearm and given the amount of engagements they go on with all over the country (opening of envelopes etc) there is no chance of a change which would make any financial difference here. There will be some token change which will only effect the poor coppers who drive them having to do more for less like all the other public servants
I couldn’t agree more with “roleyourown”. The previous administration spent a large percentage of taxpayers money on the Ministerial Cat Pool with questionable financial return to show for it.
I’m well aware that the London 2012 Olympics not too far away, however I feel that this sizeable investment in a swimming pool for felines could have been better spent on the much needed environmental surveys required by our European overlords such as The National Frog-Spawn Census, The National Census On Shit-Flies, The National Fallen Leaves Programme and most importantly the United Nations Grains of Sand Census.
The Ministerial Cat Pool took many cats off the streets but surely a cost/benefit analysis needs to be conducted by the new Government to ensure we are getting full value for money.
Sincerely,
Dr. Simon Stragelove.
Jeez guys, can you cut some slack here. They are in government 12 hours !!
When did FIanna Fail EVER take a paycut however big or small ?
Fianna Fail have left behind the biggest possible bucket of sh*ite and it will take the new Government quite while to get to grips with it
Purely for information, the last government took several pay cuts during its time in office.
Christ do you expect them to do it for nothing? If they are a competent minister they deserve it.
100% a PR exercise and the media reaction & coverage must make Enda happy this morning. Sure they will all claim back the few thousand cut in additional expenses by the end of March. Suppose at least they are going to work 4 days a week now instead of 3 (assuming they turn up) but their “holiday” policy remains to be seen.
Competent ministers? Bah. Gilmore took a 3 grand cut. From a 190k salary. That’s like someone on 25k a year taking a €400 cut – whilst it’s much more significant for the 25k earner, this is laughable. He wont even notice it’s missing!
Ok they have taken a pay cut, But let them also promise the citizens that they only take one pension when they retire. Mary Harney has three pensions from her time in the Dail, which is a couple of times more than the average Industrial wage, lets get real here.
Mary Harney, now there’s the biggest possible bucket of shit. That woman has some neck on her, Vincent Browne wrote a decent article a few months back about how complicate Mary was in the current state of the nation
Well she is a big lady..
Great fun scape-goating our woeful political class. Just wonder if we might just take a bit of responsibility for the mess ourselves? So we go to the polls, and elect another Christian Democrat party who will follow the same 4 year plan put in place by a party they say was completely incompetent…
Our Ministers are still some of the highest paid in Europe, yet we are bankrupt. Any cut less than 25% is a farce!
A few grand here and there does noting. Childrens Allowance was cut, Social Welfare was cut, Ministers need to show people they too are taking (realistic) cuts.
Our Ministers should show they are competent before receiving huge salaries. Our Country is broke, thanks to people like these.
The amount is so trivial as not to be worth mentioning.
Does Kenny feel he deserves to earn more than David Cameron running a country with a population and an economy a fraction of the size? Here was an opportunity to show that the new government were interested in real public service savings. The total savings of this move are a tiny insignificant fraction of Cowen’s annual pension. Who are they kidding,
Becoming a member of government should not be about the money. To those who might argue we will not get the best candidates for the positions if we do not offer reasonable remuneration I would counter with money does not make a good motivator. If we payed our ministers a million Euro each I can’t imagine we’d entice a better quality public servant.
Really disappointed…
Agreed it might not be as significant to them as it is to most of us but at the very least it’s something the last shower never even got close to doing. Bring it on Enda and always remember, we’re watching you all and we have good memories!
As a previous poster pointed out, the last government took several pay cuts, in every budget from 2008 on. Cabinet and Taoiseach salaries were all cut repeatedly.
Let us remind ourselves that Ming took a 50% pay cut.
All our politicians should follow suit, until the EU/IMF are out of town.
From a behavioural economics point of view, it’s a bit disappointing to see such small cuts so early on. The reason for this is that when people get accustomed to a certain level, resistance to cuts will be greater so the biggest scope for change is on Day 1 when no-one has seen a pay-slip yet so they don’t know what they are missing.
The reason Ming can be so generous with his cuts – and he’s perfectly right to do so, IMO – is the same reason (but on a smaller scale clearly) that if someone rang you up and said you’d won €2m in a lottery only to ring you back an hour later and say it was only €1m but the money had been transferred into your account already, you’d be a lot less worked up than if they gave you the €2m only to ring up a year later and ask for €1m back!
A missed opportunity. However, at least they have still plenty of scope to cut their salaries further by 10% each Budget for the next three Budgets. I think this may be needed to convince the public that their austerity is different to the last Government’s austerity.
Ronan,
Granted – I see your point that especially for Ming, it is a dream come through to have been elected.
However, we the people have not handed these politicians prize money. We are paying them to carry out their elected duties and responsibilities for the next 4 years or so, and we expect them to do their best in terms of bringing this country out of the gutter it is in.
If our leader was in any way in check with reality, he perhaps would have acknowledged the strains people are already under, whether they have jobs at all, just to make ends meet for their families. A 50% paycut (and I’m not saying that is the magic number) would tell the people, this man means business. It would also give him a mandate to instruct upon the higher paid civil servants to do the same.
Hi John,
Thanks for that – I didn’t mean to infer that this is prize money, rather to illustrate the behavioural consequences of cutting by so little now. I think there were two paths to cutting with credibility: one is as you suggest – cut by 50% and give yourself space to work for 3-4 years; the other is as I suggested above – each time the Budget is passed, cut by 10% so no-one can say you’re not taking your fair share of the pain.
Now there is only one path and I remain to be convinced that the new Government gets the scale of cuts it will need to impose on itself to convince the public that this time it’s different.
Absolutely – there were two ways they could have gone about making a point – but they’ve shied away from making a point – other than hopefully creating further PR for themselves.
As you already stated, the behavioural economics effect of these cuts mean most people who are not blinded by their support for Enda and his new government, will not be satisfied when they do impose further cuts and further tax hikes upon the people.
Finally – I know you were only using the lottery prize money as a metaphor. While it obviously isn’t prize money we are giving our politicians for being elected, they should be constantly reminded that they are being paid by the people to do a good job – as should all civil servants.
Optics. The expenses regime is open to massive abuse across public service. eg, why do Dublin TDs drive to the Dáil? Mileage very lucrative compared to claiming back the bus fair. Come to that, why do any of ‘em drive to the Dáil? Imagine how much mileage can be claimed, tax free, if you live in Kerry, Donegal, Wexford, etc…
Why didn’t they just stay on the same salary they were on before they got into government. They survived on it for the last 8 years at least, so why not the next 5 & its still too much.
Enda there are alot of people in Ireland watching you & waiting for you to fail. Show them what you are made of, stand up for the ordinary people whom have elected you & do what you said you were going to do, because if you back down on anything I’m afraid to say you wont last as Taoiseach.
I think they should probably go further. However, cutting blindly and with no thought for roughly equivalent private sector remuneration will only serve to lead those most suited to salvaging this mess out of public life.
From my own personal perspective as a Front Line Public Sector worker, I am disappointed to say the least. The pay deduction should have been a LOT more. Days of ”Austerity”?? Only for some of us I am afraid. This was merely a tiny baby step. All I hope for now is that people will no longer be ”sheeple’, and make sure to hold this Government to account. Fianna Fáil decimated this country through their greed,corruption and cronyism. I have yet to see one of them in court. Oddly enough I have seen and heard of many families in court though, losing their homes. What’s wrong with this picture???. Stay alert and be vigilant. They work for us. One more thing, at least we have no Fianna Fáil T.D. travelling up from Kerry…:).
Ok Nicola. But apparently this is a democracy and it was the electorate that put Fianna Fáil back in government in 2007 when the dogs in the street knew we were heading for a crash. We were in denial and doing our mighty best to keep the party going just a bit longer. I knew people on modest incomes, eg, care staff, doing the xmas shopping in New York. It was a mad time. If FG & Labour do put things right, I wonder how well our memories will serve us in showing some restraint and living within our personal and national means…
Our country is on the verge of sinking under the pin striped suits and steel capped boots of a handful of corrupt politicians, bankers, and builders. Lets not repeat the mistakes of previous years. The new government should show the people that if they are willing to talk the talk, they should walk the walk. Take PROPER pay cuts, stamp out ridiculous expenses, stop double and triple pensions and bring golden handshakes to an end. Every single man, woman and child in this country is having THEIR hand forced into THEIR pockets to pay for incompetent leaders. Fine Gael and Labour ran their campaigns based upon the promises of changing the system, so, CHANGE THE SYSTEM.
It’s a start, they are only in office so lets give them a chance to see if they can come good. We need to keep some hope that things can start being fixed and bring improvement!
This is an offence to the people of Ireland , if the government of this country had any principles the would lead by example , and show the people of this country that they recognise the hardships faced by the ordinary person on the streets of Ireland. These so called pay cuts are only a P.R . stunt . If they had to work for a normal wage and support a family , there wouldnt be too many of those politicians occupying the seats of Leinster House .
who are these 10 lunatics in the poll who thought the cuts go too far?!!
I have just divided that 200,000 euro by 52. It gives Mr. Kenny a weekly pay packet of 3,846 euro. That doesn’t sound anything like “austerity” to me, with my 219 euro a week pension. I agree with previous comments about people getting used to big pay packets and not wanting to give them up, indeed I’m quite sure I would be the same if I was elected. The greatest advantage to any politician is a brass neck, with that pay packet, you would surely need one to consider cutting carers allowance and student nurses pay to mention just a few of the atrocities of the last government. With the connivance of this government, in my opinion.
I would have to work 18 and a half weeks to get what Mr. Kenny gets in a week. Of course I’m a nobody on a Fas Scheme, so I can’t be compared to the ELITE of Ireland. Now Mr. James Reilly, we all know he doesn’t have to depend on his TD wages. He has a nice “little” bit coming in on the side.
If the ELITE. cares about Ireland and the Irish people, sure, we wouldn’t begrudge them a decent salary.
Wiil they reverse what Minister Ray Burke (jailed for corruption) did in 1987. He abolished the State’s 50% share and royalties that the State could have got from global corporations like SHELL, STATOIL etc..
Think of all we could do with that kind of money. 420 BILLION euros.
Will Enda & Co. insist on a new deal.
Let;s all go to Knock and pray that he does.
When the economy drops, so should a certain percentage of minister’s salaries drop.
And when the economy stabalizes, so should minister’s salaries do likewiae.
Fair is fair.
Actually, our big competitor in lots of spheres, Singapore, does have public sector pay (including politicians) linked to three levels of performance indicator: their individual performance, their team/department’s performance, and lastly overall GDP growth.
Something I saw recently which I think is apt for this conversation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
It’s about what motivates people. Money is surprisingly not always the major factor.
How about a basic wage of 25K per year and performance related pay thereafter. Maybe that would get the country moving………………
Politics, in the same way as, teaching, medicine, religion etc is/ should be a vocation, It should have nothing to do with the money. Were any of them true “statesmen” they would do it for the love of it & their belief in their country. The reductions they are implementing in their salaries are paltry & offensive in the extreme when you look at the cuts & taxes the rest of are having to deal with. Absolutely not good enough.
What about this suggestion ? Why do all our politicians not have a basic salary in accordance with their job and when they come up trumps for our country by saving us money or doing some good for our country then they could be given bonuses for that.! It would make them all work harder for the country with the benefit of extra salary at the end of the day. They need to prove they are worth the money.
This is not a party political question about meaursing the size of …… the fact is the leader of the republic of Ireland population 4 million approximately earns 200, 000 euros which is comparable with that of Sarkozy who runs a country 12 times bigger for approximately the same salarly. or Merkle who runs a country roughly 21 times bigger than Ireland, and earns about 10 grand more…….it’s more than the English prime minister. I think the Irish politicians are out of touch with the reality of their jobs.
PAY PEANUTS – GET MONKEYS
THE REAL CRIME IS THE LONG LIST OF ENTITLEMENTS AND PENSIONS THAT FLOW ONCE THEY LOSE THEIR JOBS
AND THE FACT THAT NO-ONE WAS HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO THE IRISH PEOPLE FOR THE SELL OFF OUR OUR MINERAL ASSETS, GAS RESERVES TO SHELL, AND NO ROYALTIES TO SHOW FOR IT
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN AND WHAT WERE FINE GAEL DOING ON THE SIDELINES -
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