Varadkar needs to look after his own brief first, 79 million on pointless speed limit signs.
A truck load of concrete put down an 80km sign outside our house on a 90 degree turn on narrow bog road full of craters, same all over the place

I’d have no problem with that, but it’s not going to take much out of the 18billion the country will borrow this year to fund PS pay and pensions, and Social Welfare.

Does Vradkar agree that TD and Ministerial Pensions be deferred until 67 like the rest of us too? That is a good start… or am i reading it wrong?

It would be a start. Don’t discount it.

I don’t agree, the average TD salary is not too high but the ministers pay is too high, the pensions are far too generous and we have twice as many as we need. 80 TD is plenty, that would double our return on the investment.

Claire Daley is also a public servant in her role as a TD. One person made the decision to give you a job, while thousands voted for her to do her job. This “I’m a civil servant and I’m entitled to” attitude is disgusting when there are innocent children in this country going to bed cold and hungry every night.

Ann what planet are you on? you say there are children going to bed wet and hungry and its public servants faults but in the same breath trying to justify a back bench politician who is supposedly fighting for the poorer people and who claimed nearly ?40000 in expenses last year on top of her wages of nearly ?100000, maybe she’ll cloth them children, and she’s only one of 150 politicians not to mention the seanad and councils

Guess I should give up with the sweeping generalisations too – slaps own hand.

If any body thinks Brother Howlin will go down that route they are sadly mistaken as their 15% poll rating would drop to single figure with out union support.nInteresting times ahead with trouble at mill lad big trouble

Thats my attitude – if the current government could live on TDs salaris eighteen months ago then they didnt need to take increases when the became ministers.

Yip he does speak his mind. A (low paid) civil servant friend of mine, at christmas, ran into Leo in a city centre pub. She had words with him regarding how the ( then proposed) household charge, on top of all other cuts/charges was making life unaffordable. She said Leo’s answer was “well you can afford to be out here”.

Yeah Diarmuid, Leo knows it alright
Why is he even commenting on this anyway – it is outside his remit as a minister.
Either he has ambitions outside his ministry and is talking about stuff he isnt supposed to, to gain some sort of advantage as a leader elect – or the media people behind Kenny want him to say the crap stuff so Kenny wont have to. Either way, Leo is a twit

Yeah Again Diarmuid -
Do people understand what the rigours of working night shifts looking after people does? How you get physically sick from workng nights and then changing back to days on your time off so you can actually see your kids ( very much like jet lag) While my wife has to deal with the kids alone at night while Im at work, and look after them around her own job while Im asleep during the day, and Leo and Brendan are trying to take away the extra money i get for doing that?

The people i look after simply wont survive if nobody is there. What are you going to do if we dont want to do it anymore, and why should i risk dying early from the strain of night shift work? (studies suggest night shift is bad for all sorts of illnesses – strokes, cardiac problems yada yada yada and as for our knackered backs….)
Garda, Paramedics, Fire crew and many other nurses make these sacrifices – and expect not to be in the poor house after saving people on a daily basis with our qualifications we have earned over many years.
I know the civil service you complain about Diarmuid isnt us – and i will agree with you on that (there has been enough said about the huge numbers of pointless admin and executive staff. Its plain as day that these people are the problem – why wont anybody fix it?

Who is going to be brave and smart enough to do the chop chop on those wasters. Leo isnt going to and the rest just arent up for it

Totally agree Dave, my problem has always been with civil service, back office staff who never seem to be short staffed or overworked yet frontline staff, the staff that the health service, the Garda, the education system should be based around are always struggling. It’s infuriating as a member of public to see 2000hr staff in the hse yet see wards being closed down. That’s why I firmly believe Croke Park needs to be ripped up. Not so frontline staff can suffer more for a job they do for no thanks, a job mind you I reckon I would simply not be able to do, but so the waste and bureaucracy can be eliminated and targeted and those truly serving the public can be rewarded and have their load lightened. That is also my problem with unions, they protect the wasters as much as they protect a nurse who works nights and has to hold peoples hands as they die simply because they pay a subscription. There’s no resemblance of fairness or public interest in what they do!

Tomas the big announcement came, it was announced that ministers pay would not be cut

Elaine how can you be deducted 10% of a wage that you werent in reciept of. Is this an example of the intellect of the average civil servant??

Ann, are you the same person who thought in a comment above that OAPs and those on disability are included in the numbers unemployed? And you’re questioning someone else’s intelligence?

Live register and unemployment figures – completely different.

Further I was talking about those who were included in the 4%.

Wow red thumbs for stating a fact? Do some people not like facts?

You will still have your job in 2021?? You are very lucky to have that reassurance.

I agree. Stupid talking about deferring these payments. They should be eliminated

John, its easy
The government sees the working men and women in Ireland as their sheep to be profited from while their inflated heads are the elite who are entitled to power because they were born into a political elite, or because they were in opposition for so long
(because they couldnt win against FF even when everybody knew FF was properly corrupt – they had to wait till FF totally imploded before they could come anywhere near government)
its ‘now their turn’ I dont think these arseholes are even in it just for their pensions etc ( if they had any sense they would, but they dont seem to show much of that)
Its the power they think they have they are after, and they are convinced they are entitled to it.
This is much more dangerous than someone just in it for the money.

You won’t be cribbing when the Martians invade

“the”

There are “wrong” speed limits all over the place – don’t just take my word, ask Conor Faughnan of the AA. Varadkar is supposed to be doing something about this, after all he is the transport Minister (believe it or not), but instead the speed cameras are regularly sent out to catch road users at those places where the limits are patently wrong. It’s all part of this governments revenue collecting and has sweet f.a. to do with road safety. Look out for the speed camera van on the N4 inbound just before Liffey Valley. 3 lane dual carriageway, 80 kph limit.

And Varadkar should have 10k taken off his take-home pay every time he opens his gob. Useless git. :-)

But anyone on €35k should be left alone? I’m alright jack!

Then maybe we should start pay cuts at less than 35k! Why should u not suffer too!

Has the country ever seen a more useless and ignorant TD. FG’s Bertie Ahern. Babble, babble, babble

Me thinks there’s a lot of public servants over 40k reading and red thumbing around here..mmm

Public Servants sign on for a pay scale which may be as long as 26 years. This kind of incremental scale is also found in many private sector employment usually of an administrative nature.

Sounds fair to me, but will never happen. Ministers and senior civil servants are not turkeys who will vote for Xmas.

By your well thought out of solution; person A earns 59,000 euros a year – gets a 10 % pay cut and brings their salary down to around 53,100. However, person B earning 60,000 euros a year gets 20% and bring their pay down to 48,000 euro a year. By golly there’s an incentive to work hard, try for promotions and up skill.

Sound good but your Maths doesn’t make sense you’d be better off on €59,000 getting a 10% paycut of €5900 leaving you on €53,100 than you would be on €61,000 getting a 25% paycut of €15,250 leaving you on a wage of €45,750

Another 10% percent off frontline staff…?? You haven’t a hope…

Insane and stupid

and all social welfare 50% as that’s from publics purse.

Brendan – are you for real. You seriously think that the OAP, carers allowance and invilidity pensions should be cut by 50%. You think that those unfortunate to lose their jobs should be targeted and punished by cutting their dole, remember, all these people paid into the public purse with their PAYE & PRSI contributions. It would answer you better to be looking to cut politicians salaries and pensiouns and a 1 man 1 pension policy should be introduced. Stop looking to take food off the table of the average Joe and instead look to put an end to those pigging out on the Gravy Train.

Ann no I don’t think carers allowance should be cut or some disability allowances should be cut but yes I do think people who never contributed a cent to the economy should not get a cent in welfare and there are loads out there, I’m sick of people public service bashing when reality is the majority of us are on minimum wage, I work on average 50 hours a week including weekends and nights, have to travel nearly 2 hours to work and then 5 hours back, when I get home I care for my mother which I don’t get a penny for or wouldn’t ask for a penny because it’s my duty to repay what she has done for me, by the time I pay fuel costs and mortgage I’m broke and rely on my increments,

Glad to hear that Brendan. Before I got sick I had a great career and paid tax at the higher rate and it just makes my blood boil when people make generalised comments about social welfare recipients. I have no doubt that those on the lower rungs of PS ladder are hard done by and am in no doubt that you are justified in believing that you are working for nothing. I personally dont understand why people dont want to work (I have been unable to work for 11 years and it really is not a nice situation to be in both psychologically and emotionally) and I believe that those who cant be arsed working should have their payments cut to 150 euros (which is required to live ie. pay for food, electricity and council rent) and are denied added entitlements like fuel allowance. I also believe that people like you, who are in work and also looking after an infirmed family member should be entitled to tax credits, as it takes the onus off the public purse.

Yes and a 50% tax rate for income earned over €100,000.

Stephen that goes without saying – wether people are employed in the public or private sector. Childrens allowance or whatever it is called these days should also be cut for those earning that kind of money and should be means tested for those earning above than the industrial wage.

Take home has also been cut by considerable amount and the small increments got in last couple of years have been cancelled out by other charges and increases!

You still have a job though, right? If my employer is loosing money, they dont have the money to give me increments. I accept it, I move on. Thats life.

Same job as Enda kenny then! Does SFA and gets paid a serious amount of my hard earned tax. I want a rebate kenny your useless!

You need to reread your trolling manual. Especially the subtlety bit.

Why should they have to reapply for the their jobs ?? I’m a frontline worker but that’s a ridiculous statement…. Should every worker in the state have to reapply for their jobs?

Hey Pierce, revenue have an open competition so why don’t you apply?
http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/careers.html
What stopped you applying for the thousands of other open competitions that have happened throughout the years?

Firstly let me say my point was very badly made, so here’s what I mean. I think the public service systems are not working and are not providing the level of service which all the residence of the state expect and have paid for. If you were to redesign the system and hire people necessary to give you the services you want, I don’t think you could justify the numbers of people currently employed. Thanks for the job advice by the way but I think my current job has a bit more of a future to it.

Why didn’t you apply for a “non frontline” job when there were loads of them going in the Mid naughties? Why wait til now to want to join the service?

The application process has ALWAYS been public for full time jobs. No amount of wearing the school tie or being in the same golf club gets you a job as a clerical officer!

Anne I was speaking re the 10% cut they put on new entrants to the public service the cut off date of which I missed by 2 months. nnIn relation to the pension fund I pay a large portion of my wages to 2 separate pension funds each fortnight, none of which I will see until I am 68 I feel I will have a substantial contribution made and will have earned my pension numerous times over.

Mel a quick calculation based on my current pension contributions, what my contribution would be at the top of my pay scale, my length of service, how much my lump sum would be, what my pension entitlement would be after i retire (over 3/4 of it would be the state contributory pension) shows that i would have to live to be 102 before I get back what I have paid in. so you are not 100% correct in your broad sweeping generalisation.

Mel, your are completely wrong about that.The P.S pension IS based on forty years.I should know;this is my fortieth year paying it.If you haven’t got forty years done, then you either take an actuarially reduced pension or buy the years you haven’t worked at considerable expense.

He said it is not based on 40 years of contributions ie it’s not funded by the direct contributions of the works, like the contributory private sector pensions are.

That is a fact, and does not demean the fact that it’s part of public sector T&Cs and your have to work for 40 years to get it.

Elain I am assuming so that you are entering either the nursing or teaching proffesion, both noble careers. However as someone who also went to university I did not have the luxury of knowing that a) I would get a job in my chosen field and b) I did not have the luxury of knowing what my starting pay would be. This obviously is the case for all those graduates who enter the private sector. I do however think it is disgraceful that newly qualified nurses are not guaranteed employment by the state, and the majority will be forced to emigrate.

So you just want to target the younger workers then?

Wonderful. With a few trite sentences, IBEC’s spokesman Varadkar has private sector and public sector workers at each others’ throat again.
No wonder he and his banker friends – who of course are getting increases – are laughing their heads off. You fall for it every time.

Pensions and lump sums are paid for over a forty year span by contributions which are compulsory.(you cannot opt out) The rate used to be 61/2 $ of gross but due to the P.S P.L. is now around 15%. It is a contractual entitlement which can’t be abrogated legally as P.S. pensions are covered by exactly the same pension law that applies to all pensions.

What job security are you referring to? Leo wants redundancies, and there is no job security if they can keep cutting people’s wages. I would gladly employ you and give you a job for life but I won’t pay you anything but you’ve a job for life! Now that’s security

yes unemployed should be cut, the country is a joke when people refuse work as they would be better off on dole, but let’s all jump on public sector bashing bandwagon without knowing facts

Who refuses work? 4% unemployed through the boom! Now 14/16.% who doesn’t want to work?. It’s easy to nit pick SW recipients when a small minority 4% didn’t work when there was plenty of work about! Now there’s a lot less and it’s somehow all their fault.nn€1.5 unsecured bond holder payment(s), that was not legally binding, is still being paid to Anglo. Yes it’s all the SW fault, I can see that working 25 years people should have €10 a week! Ridiculous

Ehhm excuse me lads but less of the 4% of the population dont want to work. That 4% includes OAPs, carers and those unable to work because of ill health. Please dont lump us all in with the career spongers.

Mel,P.S. pensions are pay as you go, i.e. there is no pension fund which is paid into.An imputed figure mentioned by you is based on actuarial assumptions which may or may not be valid.What I do know is I have been paying for my pension all those years and if that money had been invested in cash funds it would now be a very large sum indeed.Actually Ernst and Young did an actuarial report on the P.S pension around ten years ago and concluded that it would pay for itself unless you lived to a grand old age.Another actuarial report , the Trident Report,was commissioned by the teacher unions into the payments of teachers on the new lower scales and concluded that these young teachers would overpay for their pensions.

A rough calculation based on the TUI Teachers Common Basic Scale wef 1/1/10 would indicate over a 40 year period, he or she would have paid enough pension contributions to cover their lump sum and 11 years pension entitlements. And thats just pay as you go.

I have to ask, Neil. WHAT is your problem with the public sector?!

18 billion in borrowing Sara. Social Welfare shoudn’t be cut so PS pay has got to come down. Can’t borrow at that rate for long. Nobody will keep giving us that amount of money.

And how will you maintain even a semblance of services like that Neil?
That comment is idiotic

This country will only move forward if education, health and garda resources are maintained or improved. Otherwise you just end up with a shiteload of far bigger problems down the track.
You gotta see past that 18 billion you keep bringing up ad nauseum

So, Neil, let me get this straight. You’re saying PS should be cut, even though it already has been, but social welfare shouldn’t, even though it’s probably the only form of income in the state (bar politicians pay) that hasn’t yet been touched?
Are you on social welfare by any chance?!

Sara, you’re just wrong there sorry, social welfare has been cut!

Apologies then, diarmuid. But it still doesn’t support Neil’s theory that SW “shouldn’t” be cut but PS pay “should”.

The reason Sara is that social welfare is supposed to be a last resort of social protection – ie. in theory while lower paid PS might quite rightly feel aggrieved at their pay being cut, the vast majority of social welfare recipients are a lot worse off. Many have to survive on € 186 a week, a pretty impossible task in any economy, never mind ours. I am not saying I am for either being cut more, I would like to rip up Croke park and get rid of waste in civil service and quangos and actually hire more frontline, but gun to head I am cutting PS first. Both need reform really but as we know unions and politicians are too brainless to see that and carry it out in a meaningful way.

Mel, the Ernst and Young one was commissioned by Dept. of Finance and as I already mentioned the Trident one by the teacher unions.Incidentally, neither have been challenged since they are reputable companies using industry standard techniques and assumptions.