He speaks as if public sector pay hasn’t been touched thus far, which is completely untrue. The vast majority of public sector workers are low to middle income earners who have already suffered a minimum of 17% in pay cuts alone. The bucket is scraping the bottom of the well Enda….look elsewhere.

If I was that unhappy with my salary and paycuts, or worried about my job, I’d seek a different job and leave the public/civil service.

Why not get a job in the private sector ??

Moan moan moan suck it up dipshits you voted him in

He was voted in on a pack of lies and less than a third of voters gave fine gael candidates their first preference vote.

36.1% is more than a third….

Apologies david, I had figures of 32%

Guess the phrase ‘a turd’ automatically pops into my head when enda kenny appears on the telly.

Actually, credit where credit is due, the phrase ‘less than a turd’ is more apt……

What jobs are you talking about ! ! We don’t have 15% unemployment because 15% said they couldn’t be bothered working no more!

Sure he didn’t touch Income Tax, how are the property and water charges going to be paid? Does he think, we have money growing on trees and its Debt by a thousand cuts!

Is it 15% of the general population or working population, that figure for unemployment is calculated?

Politicians are paid far too highly in this country, what with salaries, pensions, expenses etc.. They are supposed to be our leaders, so set an example and reduce your own exorbitant payments before you try to take the knickers off a bare arse.

Unemployment is running at nearly 20% it should be calculated on working population

how the fook are they in a majority if the polls are correct.

This path, if pursued, will inevitably lead to conflict with Public Service workers. Our politicians are among the highest paid in Europe, if not the world, which hardly gives them any high ground to preach to others from. We have seen our dole queue’s increase and emigration almost reach 1840’s levels but, conversely, the wealthier in society have remained relatively untouched, if anything doing quite well from all this.
It seems everyone in society has been affected by all this, well the lower levels of it anyway, whether Private Sector, Public Sector or the unemployed but the idea that “I’m hurt more so you have to be too”, the perception that one group is somehow not suffering as much as an other, and they should be made to do so, this to me is childish. Stop and think about this. There are always going to be those who have better jobs, they may have more qualifications, more experience or just lucky enough to work for a good employer. Good luck to ‘em. But if we were to listen to the begrudgers and drag everyone’s pay and conditions down, who benefits? Not us, the employees. The employers will love to hear things like that, I wouldn’t be surprised if they encourage it, to drag pay and conditions down to a draconian, Dickensian level. When we have the leader of our country saying such things we have a serious problem. Its wrong, very wrong. We have to ask exactly who he’s is representing here, the citizens of Ireland, the good of our people? Or “Big Business”? If pay and conditions in the Public Service are driven down further, and they have already been pushed down considerably, this will allow the same to be done in the Private Sector. Its a see-saw affect, one goes down and is used to bargain the other down. At some point we, as a country, have to stop talking about it and tell our leaders, STOP. Enough, we can’t take any more.

”Hit the high earners in both public and private sectors. Leave ordinary workers alone. We’ve taken too much already.”
the high earners – mainly in the private sector employ this guy – so waht do u expect – and soeone said — suck it up ####its who voted him in – and that person has a point – what exactly did anyone expect from FG – and since when did politicins tell the truth . If they did that – how many would get elected .

how right you are there . only you nad i know this will not happen the workers will pay all the way

@tony- actually TD’s have taken cuts.

A reduction on unvouched expenses while increasing vouched expenses is not a cut Vincent. It might look that way to a hard pressed lackey like yourself but the rest of us can see through the BS.

I think ryan o has answered you.

What about enforcing the legal pension age on Politicians, why should we wait till 67 and they getting it at an early age? Also, their constituency offices are exempt from local charges and rates!

@tony , @ryan…and is so often the case with Ryan, he’s wrong in that TD’s SALARIES have fallen by €18,000 since 2010. But don’t let the truth get in the way of good old tired rhetoric, eh ?

@Vincent they have fallen by 18, OOO this is so ironic what you are saying, and they expect newly qualified nurses to work for the grand total of 22,000 per year.

Here here Tony.

Hear hear even?

And after that election he’ll still walk away with a €150k a year pension….

:)

: D

Came across as reasonable to me. Employees working for a private company that’s in major financial trouble would expect cutbacks in pay and changes in terms. Why employees of Ireland plc would expect anything different is beyond me. They should appreciate the job security they enjoy relative to the private sector before even countenancing industrial action.

What about the paycuts they’ve already taken? Are you forgetting about them?

Public Sector workers have experienced big pay cuts. Those at the bottom (usually front line) have taken a 20% cut since Austerity began, those people cannot take anymore. Yet, those earning over ?100K (faceless civil service) have had a smaller hit of 12%. People and Government need to distinguish between high earning paper pushers and low earning grafters!

There just isn’t a parallel between a state and a business. A business entered into involves risk: if you sell typewriters and they go out of fashion, you close down. A state is required by its citizens to provided services which they cannot individually provide, so health, education and transport, for example require a workforce and a budget. States aren’t selling a product, they’re ‘supposed’ to be making people’s lives better. Of course the way to pay for it all is through tax but that’s too hard a sum for Enda.

Don’t agree with a lot u say Vincent but on this I do… I’ve heard the argument advanced that because most civil servants turned down jobs in the private sector during the boom years, and because they stayed “faithful” to public work they deserve better protection from pay cuts than Johnny Joe private sector !!! Well my opinion is we’re all on this sinking ship and it’s all hands on deck !!!

MichaelD, no I haven’t. But I haven’t forgotten about benchmarking either. MichaelH, I don’t think anyone disagrees about prioritising the bureaucrats for the cuts!

@fintan- during the Celtic Tiger the unions were very keen to establish a parallel between the public and private sectors. You have to take the bad with the good.

@Vincent incorrect. Public Service unions consistently pointed out that trying to compared private sector work with public sector work was a fallacy: there are no private sector Gardaí or teachers.

@vincent i have nothing left to give!

Maybe Enda would like to lead by example so and cut in the dail first to people who caused this and then hit the big earners in public sector And make your way down reducing the cut ! Everything done backwards in this country ! See people are angry because we all know Enda know and what he like , he won’t touch the big earners and will go after the nurse or guard that have very little to live on at the moment and doing alot harder job then Edna’s ass kissing !

Sorry Vincent, but who in the private sector has to return home with a patients vomit on their clothes? Or can be expected to take the monumental abuse from the public and still be expected to treat the patient who has just berated us? Or is expected to work shifts that are longer than many private sector workers working weeks?
And don’t reply with the rhetoric that it doesn’t include frontline workers because it is going to include us. (Indeed, we heard James OReilly state that the obscene recruitment campaign for nurses was going to be extended to other areas).

@fintan- that was the core premise behind benchmarking which the Unions happily embraced.

VD, you going to benchmark the public servents who would be earning more in the private sector, or just the ones who would be earning less??

@james- I’ll reply with the “rhetoric” that a whole lot of people in the private sector work much longer hours than those in the public sector. That’s not even counting “sick days”. As for your description of a days work, if you don’t like your job, maybe you shouldn’t have went into that field?

Benchmarking must be reversed so that Ireland Inc can be competitive! Lets be realistic FF and Bertie- on his big pensions of E150000 plus PA made a big mess of the Irish Economy. How much has Bertie paid back to the Irish Taxpayer ? – NOTHING to date! Let Michael Martin and Willie O Dea write newspaper articles about how FF destroyed the economy!, lets have honesty in politics!

My days work Vincenf? Oh you mean when I turned up to work at 6:15am on Friday morning and didn’t see the light of day until 7:15pm Saturday evening? I did that twice this week Vincent. Anyone do that in the private sector? Anyone?
Sick days… I’m the only nurse doing the job I do, if I don’t turn up my job is not done. That is the same for a huge amount of front liners… We don’t take sick days because we know that our hours will not be replaced by a stand-in.
I love my job, however I dislike intensely when people discuss my salary as though they are doing me a favour by paying me at all. I am a professional, I work hours that would be akin to slavery in any private sector job, I take dogs abuse (of every nature) from the people I serve, and still you are doing me a favour by paying me?
Pity about you Vincent, get back in your box. If you want to know what any of us who will be effected by these cuts do, I suggest you stand in you local hospital, or local school, or shadow a Garda or fireman or paramedic because its us who will be effected by them. Not the people who push paper, or office staff, or higher ups. The people who you begrudge a half decent wage to are those of us who do the work.

@Vincent Dolan. I imagine James loves his job. I hope u don’t need to appreciate James enthusiasm for his work at any time in the future. I imagine James, like myself, is sick of his vocation being ridiculed by generalist, populist comments like your last.

Public sector against private sector , employed against unemployed ! When is this going to stop an when are people going to turn their attention to the real problem the stupid useless government we have !

Remember the posters vote yes to Lisbon there will be more jobs no pay cuts. And that fat hamburger eating brain cowen told us to vote yes and when he was asked what was in the Lisbon treaty he said that he didn’t read all of it .. Well the Lisbon treaty is our new consitution and that fat ba@@& didn’t even read it and told the country to vote yes but we voted no and the EU say not good enough vote again,shame on you… that not democracy but they tell us it is shame on our government who are only mangers of this country Cos we all know who the real boss of Ireland is and it’s not or government

Bring in pay rises and compulsory redundancy, any PS worker worth there salt has nothing to worry about.

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/PrBVeXVX1vo

Have a listen to this song Ireland bailout sums it up pretty well !

Sorry – you don’t get it. If the money isn’t there to pay you, whether you work for private or public enterprises, you need to reduce the pay bill. Raising taxes further stifles taxpayer’s ability to pay for other things, which leads to further job losses in the private sector and creates a downward spiral which both public and private lose out on. The only way to stop that is for the public servants, like people who work for private companies to take a pay cut.

… And neither do we in the private sector … Won’t stop me being laid off next month though

Apologies eugene, but the government cannot credibly pay a billion to unsecured bondholders one day, and then the next say that 200,000 people who earn less than the average industrial wage need to have their pay cut to save a billion cos theres no money available.

Also it’s worth ramming down governments throats that the pic sector weeny taking pay increases hand over fist during the boom time. I’m pretty sure the way it’s going government will create a huge welfare nation as public sector workers will not be able to afford to work. They need to experience the same fear of making ends meet to truly move forwards. Bell-Enda already has his early fat pension at the ready. Will never ever see a poor day. Not will his buddies that he broke the salary cap or. One rule for them…

Again incorrect. Benchmarking in fact undervalued the work of the public sector worker, discounted them for having pension provision and then threw money at them for productivity changes.

Werejammin
According to recent research Public Sector salaries are on average some thirty per cent ahead of Private Sector salaries! If Benchmarking was good enough for the PS on two occasions in the past it must be good enough now and let the chips fall wherever they may!

Link please, or are you referring to the report which cherrypicks certain employees?

@james- careful now to keep that halo polished above your head, won’t you? You were unaware of the work conditions & terms before you took the job?

Yet, vincent, you have a problem with increments, which are part of those pay and conditions. Hypocracy much??

@werejammin. From Irish Times October 12 2012
“Some public sector workers earn up to a sixth more than people employed with private firms, it emerged today.

Official figures showed the pay gap varied from 6.1 per cent to 18.9 per cent in 2010 after qualifications, service and age are considered.

The largest gap was among those on the lowest incomes but it decreased as workers in both sectors earned more, according to the Central Statistics Office.”

Vincent. You seem to be ignoring all the pay levies that public sector employees take on their earnings that private sector do not. My pay package has about 10 mandatory deductions. You don’t see that in the private sector. They’re the sneaky pay cuts we’ve had ontop our the reduction in our gross income, which is ignored by he media.

Vincent, my contract states I get various allowances.
I have yet to see said allowances. Forgive me if I don’t put much grace by my contract.

Risteard, how do your 10 deductions stack up against allowances?
Currently, the Department for Public Expenditure and Reform pays out over 1,100 allowances a year to public sector workers, at a cost of €1.5bn.

I claimed my previous 4 years expenses and was given a total of 300 euro. That’s 75 quid a year. Didn’t make a dent in those deductions.

@ Jim

“Some public sector workers earn up to a sixth more than people employed with private firms……”

SOME.

SOME people grow up to be rapists. Should we cut everyones willy off just to be on the safe side?

I can earn 1.5 times privately here.
A doctor could earn 4 times privately what he earns publicly.

Bullshit!!!!!!!!!!

What’s bullsh!t?

@Vincent Dolan: you are 100% correct. The laws of economics are coming into play, I.e. you cannot spend more than you take in. This is inevitable, for all the waffling of Jack O’Connor and Co. and the irony is that it will be imposed by a “Labour Party”.

I’m sorry Eugene but I think it’s you that doesn’t get it. If its necessary for the government to reduce the public pay bill by a billion euro they had better come up with a plan to put the bulk of that back in to the economy to prevent job losses in many small businesses. This is because the state is burdened paying out for unemployment benefit and other charges that this state gives out. Me as a small business owner am seriously concerned about your agenda.

Shame on them then, if they have already taken a 20% pay cut and done nothing about it in the last 4 years, this makes one suspect that things are nowhere near as bad for the public service as they would lead us to believe.

Jesus you haven’t a clue really do you, long working hours I work most days for 13 hours not including 13 hour night shifts in the disability sector which take me away from my family do us all a favour chief do your homework and shut your stereotypical big mouth

God with an attitude like that I’m glad you don’t look after my brother. If things are so awful for you then why don’t you do something about it rather than scratching your arse all day, 13 hours a day chatting around the water cooler is not exactly work is it??? Bloody idiot

And what’s most days? 4 outta 7?

The ordinary public worker has taken hits on there pay yet the City / county managers and directors of services had there cuts reversed , The pay of bankers and others within the ruling class cant be touched due to ” Legal and Contractual issues” So we are to believe that the ordinary worker , Firefighters , Gardai , Nurses , prison officers , etc etc contracts arent worth the paper they are printed on, Once again its one rule for the wealthy and one for the peasants in good old Ireland

How many pay increases did the public sector get during the boom though?

Eh, Aoife, the boom time wouldn’t have been a boom time if most private sector employees didn’t get increases as well. Are you contending that the private sector, as a whole, didn’t see increases during the celtic tiger years as well?

A proportion of the 14% “pay cut” is, in fact, pension levy.
I can appreciate that having to contribute towards your own very generous pension (including an average €87,0000 lump sum golden handshake) may be an alien concept. These changes can be very scary at first.
Unfortunately, us fools in the private sector have been grappling with this idea for a while now.

“A proportion of the 14% “pay cut” is, in fact, pension levy.”

Call it whatever fancy term the governement spoonfed to you jim, It is a cut in your pay, and public servants already paid towards their pensions prior to the ‘pension levy’.

Any more urban legends you’d like to regurgitate jim?

@werejammin
Gardai who retired last year had an AVERAGE payoff of €107,000 + €33,000 p.a pension.
So, if I want to have the same pension, and my plan is to retire at 60, a pension calculator tells me that I have to contribute just over €1,000,000 to my pension. That’s a million cash set aside over my working life.
Now, if you can honestly tell me that that represents a level playing field,I will conceed every inane point you have made on this thread. If you can demonstrate figures that show how the pension levy even comes close to balancing those figures, I will humbly acknowledge defeat.

Private sector workers are clearly outnumbered on here. I’m not saying private sector workers didn’t get pay increases but how many of them lost there jobs or had their pay significantly decreased as a result of the recession? When your employer can’t afford to pay staff a decrease in wage is required. Seems simple to me.

More silliness jim. You talk about comparisons with the private sector and then use Gardai, who have no equivalent in the private sector, as an example.

Did a civil servant used to take your lunch money off you in school or something, because you are going beyond the whole ‘concerned citizen’ thing here…

‘Pension levy’ is nowhere mentioned in legislation and not a cent of it goes into a pension scheme. Public service workers who are not in pension schemes are obliged to pay, as are those in public sector institutions which, for historical reasons, are not in public sector pension schemes.

Mark, to live in Ireland one needs a sense of humour, you will not survive here with no sense of humour

Tax slave
As a student of anatomy I can confirm that a neck is completely dissimilar to the structure of what I think you referred to “as a bollix ” or testicles. While both have nerve and connective tissue they lie in quite different parts of the body. I must wonder how one could be so confused unless the reasons and purpose was deliberate in which case your comment does not make any sense whatever.

You are confusing “ballox” with “bollox”

As everybody knows, Ballox is one of Spiderman’s arch-enemies, a mechanical android of alien origin; most likely of Skrull. Jockeys traditionally used their long-range super powers to influence the outcome of races (typically steeplechases), until the practice was banned in 1756.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure you won’t find “bollox” in any anatomy tome

Looks like Mick Collins has new account.

Think your right Norman , ha ha

hahaha norman i think your right by jove

Mark your attempt at been clever has failed . Miserably .

Pog and Little Red here is a source of the 200k http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/1027/1224325772087.html

Time for public action more like it. Greece and Spain showed us how its done – get out into the streeta and show these clowns the door.

John
The people on the streets of Greece threw petrol bombs at their police in an attempt to murder and to scar. Is that what you are calling for in Ireland in defence of Public Service salaries?
Could you advise us of the gains made by these thugs in Greece with their hatchets, stones and petrol bombs. Did their Government back down? Did their Government halt the march of austerity because their police were burned like fried meat on the streets? No………and this is what you want for Dublin?

They got a massive writeoff of their debts mark, debts they actually owed as a nation, whereas we’re paying off everyone elses like obedient little Paddies.

@werejammin- we also have prospects going forward. Greece- not so much.

Prospects like that couple who froze to death last weekend? Prospects like the people taking their own lives in despair due to their debts? Prosprects like the tens of thousands emigrating every year to find work……………

Yeah because behaving like the Greeks is definitely the model for economic recovery…

Should we behave like your party leader and have our heads patted in front of the words media instead david??

Werejammin
The inward investment in Greece has shrink to zero and the Multinationals are withdrawing so fast you would get dizzy. The Pharmaceutical Companies will only sell to the Greeks on a cash with order basis because they were unpaid for four years.
So you see where the write down has been of such enormous benefit to Greece!
Any comments to that position?

Nothing you mentioned in your post is as a result of the writedown. You need to read what you type on your brand new twitter account ‘mark’.

That sounds more like a description of Syria. The people of Greece ousted their Government. Every such event invites those who are just looking for trouble and the media is quick to latch on to these big stories. They set out to stop a government thinking that the country belongs to the party and that asuch they are free to do as they will. The country belongs to the people – the people have a right to demonstrate in a peaceful manner but hooligans are everywhere. Do we ban football because a few attack the police?
The people need to voice their concerns and sometimes just moaning about it in a pub over a pint just doesn’t get the message across. Certainly, if we all continue to just sit on our arses and wait, then its going to be a long wait.
In all probability, its too late for us to see better days but our efforts might benefit our children. After all, we don’t inherit the country from our fathers, we borrow it from our children.

And then John more public sector Gardai will be sent out to stop you. One out all out. The teachers, nurses, Gardai, Fire Service, prison officers etc all down tools and let the private sector see just how under appreciated they are. When you bring your kids to school and there’s no teacher, you go to the hospital and there are no nurses, you’re being robbed and no Guards to call or your house is burning down and no fire service and no prison officers to keep the criminals locked up. The government with its divide and conquer strategy and us taking the bait. Why do Irish politicians need to be paid more than their UK counterparts with a population that’s 15 times smaller? But hey, their buddies lost on investments and the working man/woman pays the bill. If I invest or back a horse, do I have a guarantee of my money back? Kenny just wants Europe to rub him on the head and tell him he’s a good boy.

That is a good idea.166 tds on a average of 200k all in if their wage was cut to 50k each one would be able to supply funding for 3people on a decent wage..
If I was on 50k a year plus what ever I personally made I would be able to save over half

If i was on 50k per year i too could save over half. Politicians need to be educated on what it is like for the majority of citizens. Might make for a good reality TV show :) ‘Frugal Politician’.

On a positive note Europa Oil and Gas Holdings announced Jan 16th the discovery of 1.6billion barrels of oil at Kiernan Prospect (South Porcubine Basin) off the west coast. Scores on the doors so far 3.2billion barrels of ‘Irish oil including Barryroe’. Lots more exploring to come in 67 more areas. Good times ahead when we as a people wake up to our rights and demand we have control over our oil and gas wealth. http://www.Trillions.ie for more info on latest oil discovery.

@pog mo thoin

TDs are not on €200k a year or anything near it.

Stop spouting populist nonsense like you’re in the pub on a Friday night.

The basic is just under 100k,”expenses”50k+(some up to 28k in fuel alone which is physically impossible unless driving a war tank) there are many more getting well over 200k,all they do is sit on a few government committees never show up and collect another 60k.
Or are you under the taught they get 500e a week and all the magic beans they want

@Pog mo thoine
Can you give me your specific sources for those numbers please ?

Source for 200k http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/1027/1224325772087.html

@ red thumbs..just Google average tds wage it I’m really not bothered copy and paste links for a troll

@pod mo thoine
as I said their salary is circa €92k pa.

Everything else is an allowance and is therefore not salary. Perhaps you don’t understand the difference so let me give you an example;
If they get a €3k allowance for a constituency office, that does not mean they are handed €3k.

Other allowances are vouched so , no spend-no get.

Every TD in the Dáil is not a ‘few committees’ so thats not valid either.

Its not perfect but the Government is trying to reform things after the destruction by Fianna Fail.

Unless you would prefer to be back in the time of the Bertie Circus ?? When very few of you were asking any questions ar all.

@pog mo thoine

And I forgot to mention that of course Google is the source all academics use for accurate and factual research !

—–

TO SAVE IRELAND FROM BANKRUPTCY – VOTE POPULISM !!!

(Head drops into hands with dispair)

@red,I used the words average and most, obviously you do not understand the meaning of either of those words and some how try use them as a fine line..
It’s expenses when that’s what its used for not just saying “yea I’m owed this much”..
Now back under your rock

@little red thumb boy, yeah all of those are legit expenses: the average industrial wage annually on petrol, sorry, if your constituency was the size of France you could probably justify that! €12K travel if you live in Dublin? Getting to work is my responsibility, I’d look sweet going in to the office with a tesco bag full of bus or luas tickets or petrol receipts, I’d be laughed out of it and maybe slow clapped for sheer brass neck but then again, I’m a mere mortal. And yeah, a turning up for work allowance has to be spent and receipts provided? The rest of us just assume that’s part of the job too.

Little Red. To save ireland from bankruptcy take control of our offshore oil and gas reserves and invest in sustainable industry ;-)

@pog mo thoin

Your condescending tone is as bad as your understanding of macro-economics and public policy.

Learn a little, you’d be amazed at how many might start to take you seriously if you did.

– You can go ahead and have the last word if its important to you as I won’t be responding.

^^^^

Last word LOL

Thanks foe the link Trillions…the big difference between us and Norway though is that their government look after their peoples interests…our crowd don’t. With Pat Rabbitt in charge that oil could be worth nothing to us if the current arrangements are left in place. Like Norway we should have a 75% tax on every barrel that comes out and if this makes it too expensive to drill..let the exploration companies piss off. The oil will still be there in 5 or 10 years time and it’s only getting more valuable.

Agreed Tony. What is the rush. We know the oil and gas is there. And prices will continue to rise. Providence Resources are making a big thing about investing 500million euro in exploration but they are ‘farming out’ that exploration. Europa Oil and Gas are a company valued at a mere €16million euro and are also ‘farming out’ their exploration to Big Oil partners. They do not have the financial resources to drill. They are prospectors. ‘Our’ Oil and Gas will only increase in value as you say with the years so it is a good security. We should be forming a State Oil company similar to Stat Oil in Norway, hiring top professionals in the field and farming out the exploration ourselves. If the government (or we the people) were to look at a 3-5 year plan to get our State Oil company together. Offer competitive salaries to get the best team together.

This is our economic salvation if people would speak up. People need to start talking more and asking the right questions of their elected politicians who have the power to renegotiate the correct deals (due to incompetence of previous governments who mismanaged and wrecked our economy!). Cease all drilling until a better deal is in place to benefit us citizens of Ireland (shareholders).

Just don’t do it again and we will forgive ya :) it is crazy to think what he is doing and still people aren’t out on the streets , there is a protest on Facebook , it being held in Dublin limerick cork Waterford last time I looked there was 236 going , that ridiculous ! Does anyone else find it interesting that he will come on and talk with that little shite who won’t ask the hard questions ! Would love to see him on vinny b being asked the hard questions not able to waffle out of them. He is a sorry excuse for a man and they are a disgusting corrupt party ! REVOLUTION !! Ballyhea 100th protest also is on Sunday week have a look into these guys every week they are there brilliant bunch of people !

@jackie crowe

Yea that damned Europe thing !

Giving us all those billions to keep us going after Clown Bertie an Co destroyed the country.
Public sector workers are getting paid only because Europe gives us money to keep going every month.

But Europe is such a nuisance isn’t it ??? (Shakes head and throws eyes to heaven)

You were right to vote Fine Gael in at the last election, you can’t blame Enda Kenny for the mess we are in. Ring your local Fianna Fail office and complain.

They didn’t give us billions to keep us going, they loaned us billions at a punitive rate to cover their gambling losses for them.

Europe wouldn’t be too bad of we didn’t have a little school teacher negotiating for us or more like doing what he is told! look ff FG all the same to me , FG were in opposition the whole time and instead of doing their jobs they went on Long holiday with our tax money ! Both the same both should be gotten rid of ! Enda ya lovely Enda poor ring jut trying to clean up the mess silly FF left for them oh and how is he doing this by bringing in most of the policies FF would have if try had been reelected attack vulnerable , disabled poor and working families on the breadline. All the while sitting pretty with his big salary and perks and allowances and all the rest , the arrogance of him ! He needs to be gotten rid of before he does anymore damage

@werejammin

Gave / loaned — I’m happy to use your word if you prefer.
After all we had so many options at the time. Countries and institutions lining up to give us finance !

‘Europe’ gambled nothing, it was banking institutions and Charlie McCreeveys blind eye economics that has us in the mess we are in.
Fine Gael and Labour are trying to get us out of the mess

You need to put more effort into your trolling, preferably somewhere else.

@werejammin

You really don’t like your ‘daily star’ understanding of our economic situation being challenged do you ?

You stock answer is to ignore the point, then be dismissive, and finish with the word ‘troll’ like you are the moderator.

See note above for my final response to your drivel.

Eh,no. When someone uses a name conducive to solely posting trolling comments on a single site, they are not worth engaging.

Lets not have just public sector although ya are get at getting out there and having yer say but shouldn’t we all unite together and set a date and have one big protest and keep doing that ! There are a few being organised at moment but not alot of support

Thats the answer — STRIKE !!

Why not just leave the public sector and get a job where you would be happy with the salary, maybe in the private sector ??

Red thumb boy… We are happy with out job and salary and would like to keep our current pay hence the reason for STRIKE

He does of course and between him and his ego strokers they have a good laugh but don’t worry,at some stage and for some reason it will leak into the public domain .
Then you will really see how much of a sleeveen he really is.

@tax slave
I would say that if the Taoiseach read the Journal;
-people like you would moan that he is wasting his time reading
-he would probably be amazed at the stupidity of some people and have second thoughs about the cuts to education
-he would wonder how people don’t see the sh*te we were left in after Fianna Fail
-he would be amused at the idea that some people think all our problems would be solved by the Oireachtas taking paycuts and bringing sandwiches to work

Bahahaha….. More spin here than a pottery class…
Ya gotta love the newly formed twitter accounts and looking at their tweets..
Ah well it takes all kinds.

RED.is your thumb red. From sticking it up endas Ass. Or from sucking it

Well said Jackie protect the rich is all this selfish govt care about

Jackie td s got a raise, really???

Well then they should start public servants on the top of the scale because that is what the correct pay should be for the work done each grade. The increment system was set up to take account of learning and becoming more skilled on the job. The top of the scale is the rate considered appropriate for the job. What they could do is remove the higher scale that exists and remove it retrospectively from everyone that has it. It is awarded without rhyme or reason or consideration of qualifications or experience. A little “gift” from management for the “pets” who tow the corporate line. This would save a lot and make pay more transparent. All non vouched expenses should be abolished from TDs and they should be paid the same as teachers. Most of them were anyway.

They better not dare how they sleep at nit baffles me

Obviously a lot of High earners on this page

As a public sec worker . I come under support staff I can tell u our wages Are crap.. With cuts . levies , pension Levies . My pay slip all it is deductions . Yet we have to do sometimes triple the work cause with staff reductions .. But keep the same standers .. Now Mr Kenny wants more cuts . More hours . Reducing staff no.s again.. How!!!!

Debbie we all have to put up with that private sector aswel my pay slip all deductions too

What work shane?

Shane, agree basic welfare only no extras , maybe increase basic welfare but no extras, at lest we can access easily what were paying for,
But you never know when you may need it , so always keep that in back of your mind

@Jim Brady. My Private Sector equivalent has not had pay reduced by employer at all! Benchmarking has already been reversed by pay cuts to Public Service. Wake up.

Germany and France pay their public sectors less than the private sector averages with no ostensible ill effects on efficiency and delivery of government services.Job security in both countries is considered an attractive feature of public sector employment,although high costs of redundancies make it very hard to sack private sector workers.

In contrast,even after austerity cuts Ireland pays the public sector (civil service,teachers,gardai,HSE and hospitals) about 50% more than the private sector average, but delivers far fewer free services,notably in health care.If this pay is unjustifiably high,obviously that takes from money that should be available for services.

In Finance’s budget forecast,2012 pay was estimated at €19 billion,which is 15% of estimated gross national income of €131 billion. If this pay was cut to roughly the same level as the private sector’s,the figure would be €12.7 billion,a cut of €6.3 billion in arguably unnecessary pay. The pay bill is 15% of national income and the arguably unnecessary portion is 5%. That €6.3 billion would go a long way to reducing the national deficit.

More silly comparisons jim. In france, medical and childcare are free, and the cost of living is far lower.

Try harder if you think you’ve an argument to make.

Apologies if it wasn’t clear to you when I said Ireland “delivers far fewer free services, notably in healthcare”
On your second point, do you consider it possible that uncontrolled wage inflation here might have some part to play in our high cost of living compared to France?

Yep, but i don’t see you calling for wage cuts for the 90% of working people in Ireland who aren’t public sector. It also just shows how silly the comparison was in the first place.

Precisely my point: market forces determine wages in the private sector, companies or employers negotiate a contract with employees, to which both parties agree. Baying for a reduction in private sector wages, would, as I’m sure you appreciate, make little or sense.
Public sector wages, on the other hand, are paid for by the private sector, without the concommitent market forces determening wages, or requrements to perform, and no risk of job losses.
Incidentally, the argument that public sector also pay taxes is fallacious. If you pay someone €60,000 from the public purse, and subtract €20,000 in taxes, the result is a cost of €40,000. There has been no net gain to the public purse.

@Aileen

‘Down with this sort of thing’

The wealthy already pay ‘more’ tax.

Furthermore, generally those who gained the wealth did it through hard work and taking business risks. They are entitled to earn as much as they can provided they do it legally and ethically.

Hard work like the fat bankers I earn 15000 a yr I’m paying same USC charge as someone earning 100000 ya that’s fair and equal ain’t it cop on wealthy get away with murder never does a budget touch them only targets people at bottom and you saying they pay enough tax means your one of th because you don’t see the affects of the recession

Silly comment. nurses and IT people etc. earn far more in the private sector. Its blanket statements like that which are entirely unhelpful.

@Enda Story. Very brave words, if ignorant of the reality of the actual plight of Public Sector workers. The pay cuts Public Sector workers have already taken have nullified any benchmarking benefit of previous years. Pay reduced by almost a quarter. Quit the vitriol and educate yourself.

Let’s hope tomorrow morning, around 5am when the place is covered in snow, that these “upward rent only” public servants decide to come to work and clear the roads so that the “impoverished” private sector workers can attend their place of work. Never heard ye whinging before 2007, when the “pariahs” in the public service were barely getting the crumbs from your marble and granite tables.

Exactly al s mac too true

Finger, do you mean the pain of the lower payed worker in the private section, the people at the top are still creaming it, wake up yourself and stop being a peasant

Exactly shay finally someone with sense here how much Do people at the top loose in a budget nothing as usual

It was NOT a EU court.
FG could have sorted the abortion issue out earlier but, like FF, were too cowardly to tackle it head on.

The only difference between FF and FG is one letter.