Salary Caps - For Some

phog

Pat Rabitte keeps telling us we're broke but they have no issue paying advisers excess salary payments.

9 ministers pay advisers in excess of salary caps

By Mary Regan, Political Correspondent

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

NINE ministers have awarded their special advisers salaries in excess of the pay cap announced as part of cost-cutting measures.

Sinn Féin said it was "ironic" that the Department of Social Protection had gone above normal pay for Joan Burton’s appointees while "pursuing to the end of the earth those they believe to be fiddling the system."

Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin said he approved a breach of the normal pay scale — ranging from €80,000 to €92,000 depending on experience — following applications from nine of the 15 departments.

And he praised special advisers for taking up the jobs at a reduced salary to "work all the hours God sends".

The Taoiseach’s two advisers earn €168,000 each while the Tánaiste’s earn €168,000 and €155,000. They are not subject to the limits.

Mr Howlin said nine ministers have been granted an exemption, including himself, Finance Minister Michael Noonan and the Ministers for Jobs, Health, Education, and Transport.

Mr Howlin said most of these people came at a "reduced cost" and gave up more secure posts.

"I’d prefer to have to stand up here and defend a salary scale that most people would find difficult to accept rather than make the wrong set of decisions that would ruin our country and cost us millions or even billions," he said.

Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald said: "I don’t accept that you couldn’t get the type and quality of advice that government requires and keep it within the very generous cap that you yourself identified.

Mr Howlin also told the Dáil he does not regard the public service pension levy as permanent, saying it was introduced as part of emergency legislation.

As discussions got under way with the bailout troika of the EU, ECB and IMF to review progress, Mr Howlin said the Government would be pushing to have some of the money from the sale of state assets used for job creation.

He said the troika is pushing for the disposal of €5bn of assets, compared to the €2bn agreed by Labour and Fine Gael in the Programme for Government.

"Important as the quantum of money is, it is more important to decide how we will use the money."

Mr Howlin said: "We want to give a clear message to the troika and to all our international partners that we must grow our economy out of the hole in which the previous administration left it."


Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/9-ministers-pay-advisers-in-excess-of-salary-caps-170352.html#ixzz1aYaoircf

MizenHead

What are the pay scales and pensions at the top (and mid range) for civil servants? What does the head of Cork Count Council earn? If the salaries and pensions were reduced to a sensible and realistic level; What could the country save? and would it really reduce the quality of decision making - personally I do not think so as it all seems fairly crass at the moment.

Are politicians taking all the flack with the civil servants, keeping their heads down, doing their usual invisibility act?

RandolphEsq

"I’d prefer to have to stand up here and defend a salary scale that most people would find difficult to accept rather than make the wrong set of decisions that would ruin our country and cost us millions or even billions," [Howlin] said.

It's possible, though I might be simplifying it, that they can have a lower salary scale and not make bad decisions. Politics is after all a vocation so the money only matters insofar as it is higher relative to lower-ranked civil servants.

MizenHead

RandolphEsq wrote: »

It's possible, though I might be simplifying it, that they can have a lower salary scale and not make bad decisions. Politics is after all a vocation so the money only matters insofar as it is higher relative to lower-ranked civil servants.

It seems to make a lot of sense - so why are they being paid so much, and, who is in control of such matters?

RandolphEsq

MizenHead wrote: »

It seems to make a lot of sense - so why are they being paid so much, and, who is in control of such matters?

They're in control of it themselves, which is so stupid. They will hardly be motivated to drastically change the whole civil service pay structure themselves though, and it isn't worth electing some looper for that reason alone. We are getting taken for fools, and there doesn't seem to be much we can do about it. Unless we could organise a campaign to reduce the pay scales drastically throughout the civil service.

MizenHead

RandolphEsq wrote: »

They're in control of it themselves, which is so stupid. They will hardly be motivated to drastically change the whole civil service pay structure themselves though, and it isn't worth electing some looper for that reason alone. We are getting taken for fools, and there doesn't seem to be much we can do about it. Unless we could organise a campaign to reduce the pay scales drastically throughout the civil service.

So its Campaign or Looper!


Location: An Anchored Yacht in Dublin Bay! - are you planning a quick getaway? . Do you have gold on board?:)

RandolphEsq

MizenHead wrote: »

So its Campaign or Looper!


Location: An Anchored Yacht in Dublin Bay! - are you planning a quick getaway? . Do you have gold on board?:)

I enjoy the view of the city from half a mile out.