If the bank doesn’t have the money to pay the bonuses … what the hell is it doing paying bonuses? Legal doesn’t even come into it. How many of us lost paychecks due to businesses folding? Not bonuses, but the actual fees for works done that never materialised? Our government shrugs that off, yet bends to these failing behemoths? I don’t know. Words fail me.

That is, pardon my French, fucking insane.
I left Ireland about 4 months ago, I graduated in 2008 just after the country announced it was in recession.
I had one relevant job, a 3month contract, in a field I spent 5 years working towards, I am now employed in a fulltime position a hop-skip-&-a-jump over here in London.
Those bankers played a massive part in Irelands demise, they should be made redundant (clearly they cannot function as bankers, so that term is very appropriate for them) and struggle to find a minimum wage job which like the rest of the country has been subjected to, like my family and friends.
Fuck all of ye, ye do not deserve a further fucking penny, ye liars and thieves.

I’d love to see Brian Cowen defend this one as “robustly” as he defended everything else yesterday during various interviews. This is a deplorable action by AIB, particularly as it refers to 2008 bonuses.

The government has cut vulnerable people on the basis that it cannot afforded.
The same should apply to theese people in AIB. We may be bound legally but pay them when the Bank get back into profit and our money is returned.

I find it fascinating that the court that heard the test case over this for one of the bankers found that his claim of “unnecessary hardship” resulting from not receiving his bonus was reasonable. Said banker received a salary of 71,000. His bonus was 141,000. I can’t see how “unnecessary hardship” could be incurred by someone on a salary of 71k. Necessary loss of some luxury maybe…

GET REAL AND BE GLAD YE HAVE A JOB THAT MONEY BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND ENTITLED OR NOT ITS NOT YOUR MONEY TO GIVE AWAY

the supposed contracts that entitle AIB staff to these bonuses must have had performance related elements included. consider that these are the employees that lost the bank all its money, supplied its customers with criminally poor advice, entered false information on account details to justify their activities… this hardly constitutes meeting your contracted obligations to the bank and its customers

Pat a guy from cork… it is an utter disgrace ..While we have to sit and take this AT PRESENT there are options.
Firstly any who have an account with AIB lets move our business to a different bank .
Next ..there will be a vote in the near future …Lets be heard ..go out and use our vote .
Then, as in my case I have 3 grandchildren ,oldest is 8 so I will be giving them history lessons .Asking when they get to voting age that they remember what has happened and those responsible,that is assuming that they will still reside in Ireland ….
My penny for what its worth

So the Government can’t interject and direct where the banks distribute their hand-outs. Can we not just give them €40m less the next time they come knocking with their begging bowls?

its an absolute disgrace, what kind of a country are we living in…….need i say…………………….

The Banks are inslovent – they have failed, they were private businesses which failed. What happens, they should have been allowed to fail, close down. New banks could have been set up. Give the banks back to the Quakers. They knew how to do business, honestly, fairly prudently and with profit sharing for all the staff. No big inflated ego driven bonuses for failures, just profit sharing. No profit, no sharing. An ancestor of my mother’s was a Quaker banker in Cork, and a very interesting story it is too. If you get a chance pick up the book entitled ‘Merchants, Mystics and Philanthropists – 350 Years of Cork Quakers. by Richard. E. Harrison available from Ben Russell benr@esatclear.ie Lets look at new ways to live and refresh our country, we can give hope to all but we need a new paradigm.