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Gabriele François Casini/MSF

'I was aware that I could have easily died at sea. But I had to leave, I had no choice'

More than 1,800 people have died this year crossing the Mediteranean Sea. Here, people who have survived explain what drove them to such desperate measures.

NEARLY 60 MILLION people worldwide are currently displaced from their homes by war, poverty and human rights violations. Most leave for other parts of their home countries, or to neighbouring countries, but some risk a dangerous journey to Europe. With land borders closed, a perilous journey at sea remains the only option.

More than 1,800 people have died this year crossing the Mediteranean Sea. On average Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams are rescuing over 100 people per day. So far MSF has rescued over 2,600 people on the Mediterannean and provided medical care to thousands more at the port of Pozzallo, Sicily.

Here are the stories of four people, who have risked everything while attempting the dangerous crossing in overcrowded, leaky boats, in search of a new life in Europe. (Stories recorded by Médecins Sans Frontières medical staff.)

Dreams of football stardom shattered by war

Seventeen-year-old football prodigy Mohamed fled Syria after bomb killed teammate

Pozzallo migrant reception centre Alessandro Penso Alessandro Penso

Mohamed had always dreamed of a career in international football. At the age of 17, he was captain of Syria’s national youth team, despite being their youngest player. He was a striker, number 10 in the team, scoring a record 64 goals in 52 matches. But on 15 April he left all this behind, escaping Syria to risk everything on a rickety boat across the Mediterranean.

“Where is our star?”, “Our star shouldn’t have left us” and “He’s gone to Germany” are some of the posts on Mohamed’s Facebook page, alongside photos and videos showing his prowess on the football field.

At first Mohamed was so caught up in football that he took little notice of the war. But soon the conflict began to encroach on his daily life. As he took the bus to his training sessions, explosions became more and more frequent – when this happened, he and the other passengers would throw themselves onto the floor between the seats. One day, a bomb exploded on the football pitch in the middle of a match and one of his teammates died. Mohamed realised he did not want to carry on.

At the same time, Mohamed’s eighteenth birthday was looming, bringing with it the prospect of forcible conscription into the Syrian army.

“We decided to leave Syria to protect Mohamed’s future,” says his father.

Accompanied by his father and uncle, Mohamed crossed the border to Turkey and made his way to the port city of Mersin, on the eastern Mediterranean. A distance of just a few hundred kms, the journey took 24 hours and was fraught with risk. They had to cross the mountains on foot, bargain for transport and avoid human traffickers, all against a backdrop of gunfire and explosions.

In Mersin, they found a boat that would take them to Europe: an old merchant ship, into which they were squeezed with hundreds of other Syrians. By day two, the boat had started to take on water. By the time they were rescued, the boat was barely afloat. It was five more days before they landed on the coast of Sicily.

Mohamed sits on a camp bed in the migrants’ reception centre in Pozzallo, surrounded by Syrian families. On the wall behind him are pinned drawings, messages written in Arabic, Syrian flags, and a picture of a leaking boat with the legend ‘the death ship’.

Mohamed’s gaze is serious and determined; it suggests someone who, despite all the difficulties, will not easily give up on his ambitions.

“I hope that European clubs will read my story and help me pursue my dream to play football,” says Mohamed. “I would like to get to Germany and play for Borussia Dortmund, or to Spain and play for Real Madrid. I cannot go back to Syria – I feel like a deserter.”

Someone brings a ball. Mohamed starts to dribble the ball before bouncing it on his head, then transfers it expertly from foot to knee to shoulder. A circle forms around him. The onlookers clap their hands and shout encouragement. For the first time, Mohamed smiles.

“In Eritrea, escaping is no joke. Those who try it risk being executed.”

Anna, 21, left Eritrea, but one day she is determined to return

Pozzallo Migrant Reception Centre Alessandro Penso Alessandro Penso

The first time that 21-year-old Anna tried to leave Eritrea, she was still a child. Captured and arrested, she was taken to prison, where she was tied up and beaten. On her release, Anna began to concoct the ‘perfect plan’ to get out of Eritrea. “In Eritrea, escaping is no joke,” she says. “Those who try it risk being executed.”

Anna was still only 16 when she succeeded in crossing the border to neighbouring Ethiopia. Hoping to get permission to join her mother in Israel, she stayed in Ethiopia for five years, but her requests were rejected. Finally she decided to leave Ethiopia to embark on the long and dangerous journey to Europe.

The toughest part, says Anna, was in Sudan. After walking for 13 hours non-stop, she got a lift on a pick-up truck, crammed in with 25 other people. Her feet and legs felt as if they were paralysed, she says. In the desert, the truck was stopped by traffickers, who forced them to strip naked as they searched them for money and valuables. The traffickers stole everything of value – they even took some people’s shoes, leaving them to continue their journey barefoot.

Anna holds on tightly to a copy of the Bible as she speaks. She doesn’t cry, but her eyes water with unshed tears. “I was scared,” she says. “I didn’t know if I would make it. I prayed a lot, I trusted in God.”

In Khartoum, Sudan’s capital city, Anna bumped into some people she knew, and together they travelled on to Libya. On the Mediterranean coast, she managed to embark on a wooden boat along with 300 others. Just a few hours after setting off, the boat’s engine caught fire. The passengers managed to put the flames out with buckets of water, but the engine was damaged beyond repair. Someone called the emergency rescue services, who arrived nine hours later and took them to Pozzallo.

Anna sits in the reception centre in Pozzallo. Like most Eritreans in the centre, she knows some words of Italian, but it is thanks to Médecins Sans Frontières cultural mediator, Negash, that she is able to tell us her story in her native Tigrinya.

“I am alive and I have a lot of faith in God,” says Anna. “I don’t know where I will go – maybe to Belgium, maybe to England – but I do know what I want to do: I want to study Political Science. One day I want to work to bring peace back to my country. I have a very strong desire to go back to Eritrea.”

“In Libya everybody has guns and knives, even young kids”

Abdu, a 34 year old from Gambia, was rescued on 14 May by Médecins Sans Frontières from a wooden fishing boat carrying 561 people

MSF Mediterranean Search and Rescue: Third Rescue Gabriele François Casini / MSF Gabriele François Casini / MSF / MSF

“My name is Abdu. I am 34 years old and I am from Gambia. The journey to Libya took me five and a half months, during which time I passed through Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Algeria.

I left Gambia because I needed money to support my family. There’s no work in Gambia. Before getting to Libya, I stopped a little while in Algeria to work and gather a bit of money. There the situation is better than in Libya: you can work, make some money and if you have your documents nobody puts you in prison without reason. But my brother was in Libya and I wanted to find him to travel to Europe together, so I went there.

In Libya there are a lot of bandits that attack you and steal everything you have. They harass you, beat you and can even kill you. There’s no freedom in Libya. You can’t walk or go where you want. Often people that pretend to be police or army, but are neither, kidnap you and try to extort money from you to let you go. If you have no money they beat you or kill you.

I have been kidnapped several times in Libya. One time, for example, while I was going to meet a friend of mine who had just arrived in Libya, some people pulled me into a car. They drove for a long time and took everything I had with me. I asked them to let me go because I had nothing else and they abandoned me in the desert. I was lucky that some other people were passing by and helped me to get back to the city.

When you arrive in Libya it is easy to get in contact with many people just like me that left their country to look for a better future. They helped me find my brother and we started living together. My brother is younger and I am responsible for him. That’s why every time we needed to go out to get something I left him at home, for his security. And that’s how I got kidnapped several times. I was imprisoned in houses; they were never real prisons or camps. These houses are full of armed men and women – everybody has guns and knives, even young kids. They take your money and they beat you up. Every day they would ask me for money and every day they would beat me. If you have no money your life doesn’t have value for them. If you are lucky you know people that will pay for you – I was lucky.

It met smugglers through my friends. They told me that if I had some money on the side they could put me in contact with people organising boats to Europe. I said yes and decided to try my luck at sea. I paid $1700 and decided on a date of departure. The date was postponed twice because of bad weather. One day, three weeks after, they called me and confirmed that we would leave that night, and we did. The smugglers are very hard with people. I was lucky because I had a place to stay until they called me. But there are many people that are put in warehouses while they wait for the departure.

The journey on the boat is a question of life and death. You’re on a small boat without any safety measures and with so many other people. I was very aware that I could have easily died at sea but I told myself that I had to leave, I had no choice. I thought, if God allows me to live, it means I have a purpose – it is destiny.

We go away from our country because we have no choice. We need to earn money for our families. We don’t want to get the Europeans tired of us, to overwhelm them, but we have no choice. We risk our lives to help our families, or neighbours, our friends, our parents and our brothers. That’s why we embark on this journey.

Now that I have been saved I believe more in God and I think about my family and future. The first thought I had when I saw the boat that saved me was to my family and to God.”

Much more than a letter

Golleh, 20, experienced forced labour in a Libyan prison

Pozzallo Migrant Reception Centre Alessandro Penso Alessandro Penso

Golleh was treated by Médecins Sans Frontières teams initially for intestinal problems, which healed after a course of antibiotics. But some scars are less visible. He told his story to Anna, an MSF doctor.

Four years ago, in Gambia, both of Golleh’s adoptive parents died. Deprived of his inheritance, living in poverty and completely alone, Golleh decided to leave.

Golleh spent five months in Senegal and a year in Mauritania before making his way to Libya. Unable to pay 500 Libyan dinars, he was imprisoned, and forced to work at gunpoint every day for two months to pay off his ‘debt’. “They checked me day and night, pointing their guns at me, and they beat me,” says Golleh. On his release, he decided to take a boat for Italy.

“Since 2011, when my father died, the first people to take care of me were you,” he tells Gaiaan MSF psychologist.

That day, Golleh sat down and wrote a letter addressed to the MSF doctor who had treated him when he first arrived in Pozzallo:

“Hi Anna, I want to thank you and all of the people in Pozzallo – the doctors in particular. I send my greetings to all of you because today I was very happy to see Gaia, who came from Pozzallo to pay us a visit here at the centre.

I am very happy, and I am writing this letter to greet every one of you. I saw the respect you demonstrate towards the human being. You give the right cure to those who are sick. You always smile because you want us to feel good. For this reason I want to thank you and pray for you.

Your friend from Gambia,
Golleh

Thank you for reading my letter!”

And Anna’s response?

“Thank you Golleh for writing it! When you’ve made a long journey to escape poverty and persecution, when you’ve been subjected to forced labour in a Libyan prison, when you’ve risked your life crossing the Mediterranean, the very least we can do is to help your visible and invisible scars to heal.”

Médecins Sans Frontières search & rescue teams have rescued over 2600 people so far this year from the Mediterannean Sea. When onboard medical teams treat people according to their needs. Basic medical care up to advanced life support is provided onboard two ships the Phoenix and Argos. To find out more about the work of Search & rescue operations in the Mediterranean see http://www.msf.ie/country-region/search-and-rescue-mediterranean-sea

 

‘The Mediterranean will become Europe’s graveyard’

Hundreds of rescued migrants aboard Irish ship arrive in Italy

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    Mute Mary Murphy
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:26 PM

    How about we drop the senior teacher’s pay to get pay equality? After all wasn’t it the senior teachers that voted for lower pay for new recruits to protect their own pay?

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:32 PM

    @Mary Murphy: it’s as simple as that really. The teachers voted for this, here’s your pot of money and spread it between you as you will. We’re €200bn in debt and €250m doesn’t grow on trees.

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    Mute The Risen
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:36 PM

    @Sean @114: It grew on a tree overnight when the Gardai threatened to strike.

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    Mute louise finnegan
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:39 PM

    @Mary Murphy: new TDs don’t have to deal with pay inequality so why should teachers.

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    Mute Mary Murphy
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:48 PM

    @louise finnegan: exactly…so cut the senior teacher’s pay to the same level as the new recruits. Then they will all be on the same pay with no inequality

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:52 PM

    @The Risen: I don’t remember gardai voting for entrant gardai to be on lower scales. Aren’t you the person who once claimed that all public service increments were performance based? I got a great laugh out of that one.

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    Mute Ciarán Masterson
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:53 PM

    @louise finnegan:

    I acknowledge that new public-sector workers should get the same starting salaries as their longer-serving colleagues.

    However, even if the unions had not accepted the Croke Park deal, the government probably would have cut new entrants’ starting salaries anyway.

    As for new TDs, the following constitutional detail might answer your question:

    The present members of Dáil Éireann, although they are in the same building and the same hall as previous members and, presumably, have the title “Houses of the Oireachtas” on their payslips, are technically under a new employer, the 32nd Dáil.

    The preceding employer of those TDs who were in office before the 2016 general election was the 31st Dáil, which ceased to exist (i.e. dissolution) before the 2016 election. The dissolution of the 31st Dáil meant that its members were no longer TDs and those who were re-elected now had a new employer, the 32nd Dáil.

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:53 PM

    @louise finnegan: they would if sitting TDs voted for lower scales for newly elected TDs. That’s exactly what the teachers did. Shame on them.

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    Mute Ciarán Masterson
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:58 PM

    @The Risen:

    No money “grew on a tree” at all.

    The number of gardaí is much smaller than the number of teachers who are paid by the government. More importantly, a garda “strike” would have led to anarchy but a teachers’ strike would not. In the case of a teachers’ strike, the worst case scenario would be that the unions would suspend it after a fortnight because teachers do not want to endanger their pupils’ prospects or their own families’ welfare.

    It is with good reason that government security employees – police and the military – are treated differently from other public-sector employees, i.e. not having the legal right to strike.

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    Mute eric nelligan
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    Sep 14th 2017, 10:00 PM

    @Mary Murphy: you are incorrect, senior teachers did not vote to cut younger teachers pay, it is part of the gov spin to discredit anyone who considers going against them.

    The vote was that pay levels would be held stable, part of the LRA agreement was that strike or any form of industrial action was then illegal. A few Months after the was passed by ICTU the gov cut pay for all new entrants.

    It must also be noted that the ASTI were the last union into LRA after many efforts to alter its contents. Also the ASTI were bound by the overall majority within ICTU, since the larger unions, impact and siptu had accepted all other unions were forced into the LRA whether they liked it or not

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    Mute Gary
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    Sep 14th 2017, 10:18 PM

    @Mary Murphy: You really don’t understand what’s going on, do you? They are not looking for a senior teacher to be paid the same as a new recruit and would you really think that would happen anywhere else? I’ll explain it simply for you and hopefully you’ll understand.
    Example: A senior teacher that started in the year 2000 started for example on say €30,000.
    A new recruit today starts on maybe €26,000. New recruits want to start on the same money that more senior teachers started on years ago. Concentrate hard on that one now please. It’s quite simple really. I’m not a teacher but can easily see what they’re looking for.

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    Mute Gary
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    Sep 14th 2017, 10:21 PM

    @Mary Murphy: Lololol. So a teacher with 30 years experience in their 50′s should be paid the same as a new recruit fresh out of college in their mid 20′s? Wow, you’re thick.

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    Mute louise finnegan
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    Sep 14th 2017, 10:35 PM

    @Mary Murphy: or we could pay them all to the original pay scale just like the TDs

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    Mute SheelB
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:04 PM

    @Mary Murphy: No, they did not vote for lower pay for younger teachers. That’s wrong. The government made these decisions.

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    Mute Kate Ní Bhriain MhicAodha
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:09 PM

    @Mary Murphy: No we never did. Government brought it in no consultation then we voted on Haddington or Croke park or one of them and that consolidated it….we also took a 20% decrease at that time between cuts, increments and USC

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    Mute shits ville
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:09 PM

    @The Risen: yeah but we need the Gardai to keep your ilk in check

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    Mute The Risen
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:20 PM

    @shits ville: And what, pray tell, is my ‘ilk’?

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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:49 PM

    @The Risen: those who applaud murderers of Gardaí and prison officers

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    Mute Mary Murphy
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:55 PM

    @Gary: it seems for the vast majority I don’t explain in detail. They can read between the lines….but just for you. WHY DON’T WE DROP THE SENIOR TEACHERS ON TO THE SAME PAY SCALE AS THE JUNIOR TEACHERS? Or maybe meet in the middle so the newer teachers on the lower scale get brought up to a higher scale which is funded by the senior teachers getting a pay cut. This will bring pay equality as requested by union leader Joanne Irwin.

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    Mute Mary Murphy
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:57 PM

    @Kate Ní Bhriain MhicAodha: the same cuts, increments and USC that pretty much every worker in the country took? USC wasn’t just for teachers you know.

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    Mute Melissa O'Callaghan
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    Sep 15th 2017, 5:32 AM

    @Mary Murphy: I think they have forgotten that they sold out their younger teachers. It is so unfair and I’m sure creates a great deal of disharmony in the staff room. They should acknowledge their wrong doing and any pay increase should be weighted in the younger teacher’s favour and gradually undo the wrong. It’s not the state’s fault that teachers struck a selfish deal.

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    Mute misterG
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    Sep 15th 2017, 9:23 AM

    @The Risen: it shouldn’t have considering what we have discovered since.

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    Mute Darragh McCormack
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    Sep 15th 2017, 11:50 AM

    @Gary: That’s not the argument at all. Its about pay scale. A teacher who started in 2000 would start on 30,000, whereas a new recruit would start on 26,000. The next year teacher qualified in 2000 increases to 31500, but the new recruit goes to 27500, so over the course of a career, they’re losing out on thousands. Is that simple enough for you?

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    Mute Mark Edwards
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    Sep 15th 2017, 9:05 PM

    @Mary Murphy: Fully agree.

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    Mute Jim Hartnett
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    Sep 16th 2017, 11:30 AM

    @Sean @114: It grew overnight to save private gambling banker vermin who, like AIB when given the first tranche of billions, shored up their own private pension fund with barely a ripple from our esteemed politician types.

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    Mute Dave J
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:29 PM

    so the education purse is cash strapped. Like the housing. And the health.

    Strangely though, TD’s were able to have their pay restored, yet haven’t performed in any of the several crisis the country is facing.

    One would almost think you are laughing at us in Dail bar with your mates. Have another one lads, we’ll pick up the tab.

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:34 PM

    @Dave J: the TDs are public sector too. In fact a lot of them are teachers with careers on hold while they cash in on their dail seat. Sure they can then draw down on both pensions.

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    Mute Dave Murray
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:37 PM

    @Sean @114: Exactly, sure Enda’s was on hold for over 40 years.

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    Mute Kate Ní Bhriain MhicAodha
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:10 PM

    @Sean @114: wasn’t that practice banned about a decade ago? They can no longer hold dual roles I think

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:34 PM

    @Kate Ní Bhriain MhicAodha: they can claim their multiple gold plated pensions. They can also claim their career break, term time, bank time and whatever other time they can make up to avoid being productive.

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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Apr 7th 2018, 8:57 AM

    @Dave J: cut the corrupt, overpaid, underperforming, overfed TDs salary by 50% for starters

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    Mute Kevin Foley
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:31 PM

    This is a horrible comment from Minister Bruton.Our young teachers do equal work to all other teachers and are entitled to equal pay.They are unable to secure mortgages and are caught up in the high rent culture.Our young teachers remained in Ireland during the recession and did not emigrate to brighter prospects abroad.
    At least they deserve a fair and equal wage.
    Kevin

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:38 PM

    @Kevin Foley: take it from their senior colleagues who voted to put them in that situation. Bruton is right to hold firm or the unions will walk all over him and further bankrupt this country.

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    Mute PeteMcC
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:46 PM

    @Sean @114: There was no choice given. All teachers had a gun put to their heads by Union leaders who were being pressurized by the Govt to accept whatever was offered. It was a no win situation which many choose to forget.

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 10:01 PM

    @PeteMcC: ah would ye stop. So there was no ballot then. Union leaders, elected and paid by union members, put a gun to members’ heads and forced them to shoot their junior colleagues? I’ve heard it all now. But sure look those members can now make amends by negotiating a pay freeze with funds to be used to push entrance to the higher scales. Job done. Let’s have a vote on it. It should pass as senior colleagues are now so concerned for the new entrants.

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    Mute Kate Ní Bhriain MhicAodha
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:11 PM

    @Kevin Foley: well said. The brain drain will soon become clear. Pay peanuts get monkies

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    Mute Kate Ní Bhriain MhicAodha
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:12 PM

    @Kevin Foley: *Monkeys

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    Mute Kate Ní Bhriain MhicAodha
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:12 PM

    @Sean @114: No we never did. Government brought it in no consultation then we voted on Haddington or Croke park or one of them and that consolidated it….we also took a 20% decrease at that time between cuts, increments and USC

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:38 PM

    @Kate Ní Bhriain MhicAodha: 20% decrease? Union spin. The Universal in USC means everyone. PRD is not a decrease, it’s a tax deductible pension contribution to preserve your €1m pension priced fund. You still get non-performance based annual increments which is unheard of in most industries.

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    Mute The Risen
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:35 PM

    “Won’t somebody please think of the children” cried the government which watched childhood poverty double and childhood homelessness hit record numbers, while they shovelled billions out of the country to cover bondholders gambling debts.

    Was there not a back slapping photo op last week with a headline about Ireland repaying a €4,500,000,000 loan early??

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    Mute shits ville
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    Sep 15th 2017, 12:19 AM

    @The Risen: 1/4 of children in Northern Ireland living in poverty – it seems we’ve got a better social justice deal here
    http://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/24-of-children-in-northern-ireland-living-in-poverty-35196811.html

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    Mute Jarlath Murphy
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:27 PM

    Or alternatively they could just use the 13 billions from Apple!

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    Mute Kerry Blake
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:28 PM

    @Jarlath Murphy: Or the €300 thousand given as a hand shake to the ex commissioner….

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    Mute Dave J
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:30 PM

    @Jarlath Murphy:
    no jarlath. sure we will have to pay a few billion to fight the Eu to let apple keep it.

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    Mute Jarlath Murphy
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:30 PM

    @Kerry Blake: Or the two billion they squandered on that Irish Water billing scam!

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    Mute P.J. Nolan
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:52 PM

    @Jarlath Murphy:
    I have never seen so much whataboutery on a single thread.

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    Mute Patabake Kennedy
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    Sep 14th 2017, 10:36 PM

    @P.J. Nolan: Or the 280 million that Noonan wasted on leprechaun economics,

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    Mute Tom Hickey
    Favourite Tom Hickey
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:33 PM

    But he had no problem restoring ministers pay.

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    Mute Sean @114
    Favourite Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:39 PM

    @Tom Hickey: all public sector workers on those grades had their pay restored.

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    Mute winston smith
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:26 PM

    He is correct and if anything the older contract teachers should take a pay/pension cut to pay for any increases to new entrants. The spiral of wage increases and hours reductions in our education system must stop now.

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    Mute The Risen
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:38 PM

    @winston smith: Complete crap. Not allowing our country to be used as a tax haven would bring in multiples of what it would cost to meet the basic principle of equal pay for equal work.

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    Mute Christy Nolan
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:39 PM

    @winston smith:
    It is spin and blackmail of the highest order.
    How can “Brutus” steep so low?

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    Mute PeteMcC
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:43 PM

    @winston smith: that has been done. Its amazing how people forget. Schools are still as cashstrapped as ever before. The connection between salaries and resources is flawed. The next election will make Bruton think differently about pay equality.

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    Mute winston smith
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    Sep 14th 2017, 10:26 PM

    Risen that tax haven rant is as ridiculous as the “whatever public money is spent in one area could have been spent better in this or that other area”…teachers are the pampered elite of the public service who feel more entitled at the public trough than others.

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    Mute Kate Ní Bhriain MhicAodha
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:15 PM

    @winston smith: maybe investigate before typing… we took pay cuts, increment freezes, pay a pension levy on top of the super ann we were already paying. A pension levy is a great way to cut pay but leave it looking like the pay was never cut! Don’t try and pit the various entry levels against each other!

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    Mute Sean @114
    Favourite Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:30 PM

    @Kate Ní Bhriain MhicAodha: the PRD is not a pay cut, it’s a tax deductible pension contribution to a defined benefit pot of gold upon retirement. Anything stated other than that is union spin.

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    Mute Dave Murray
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:31 PM

    How come TD’s/Ministers can get pay restoration/increases? There’s money to be found for that, of course?

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:37 PM

    @Dave Murray: everyone in the public sector on those senior grades did. The unions forced it through. It’s a separate matter to this where senior teachers ditched their junior colleagues.

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    Mute Kerry Blake
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:27 PM

    ” on resources for school children,” using children to play the poor mouth. Shame on you Richard…….

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    Mute Les Boyd
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:30 PM

    @Kerry Blake: SHAME ON HIM?? shame on the teachers for blackmailing again , cop on, over paid like the rest of the public sector

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    Mute Dave Murray
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:32 PM

    @Les Boyd: Nice sweeping generalisation there, classy.

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    Mute Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:36 PM

    @Les Boyd: Overpaid? Teachers are highly educated and have an incredibly important and difficult job in educating children, both academically and otherwise. Most people who spout such nonsense shy away from the offer of swapping jobs for a week, with the usual response being ” I wouldn’t have your job for love nor money”. Are you one of these individuals that view teachers as glorified childminders or are you just carrying a chip on your shoulder from your own years in school?

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    Mute Les Boyd
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    Sep 14th 2017, 10:58 PM

    @Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin: no Sorcha Im one of those people that has a view that just cause your teaching the future generation dosent give you the right to blackmail the government every time they want a pay rise, I work in the private sector in bio making drugs for you and your children working 12hr shifts nights and days, I dont expect a newbie coming in to be on the same money as me, as a matter of fact i would be seriously unhappy if they did cause unlike you l live in the real bloody world not some public sector bubble

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    Mute Ignorant Carbon
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:47 PM

    @Les Boyd: Unfortunately this doesn’t just affect the new entrants to the jobs market in second level teaching, the legislation also impacts third level teaching staff too.

    For example, the Institutes of technology come under the same pay deal. In industry, an engineer could expect to earn 60k+ as a R&D engineer, Masters degree and about 10 years experience (Ref: Morgan McKinley – Engineering salary guide 2007).

    Roles requiring similar qualifications are advertised at point 1 on the assistant lecturer pay scale (€35743, Ref: TUI teaching salary scales) some IoTs will not recognise the industry experience of new entrants so they have to start at point one on the scale.
    This means it could be 10-15 years before an engineer would even match their current earning potential, how are our educational facilities supposed to attract strong engineers/scientists to teach future professionals if this is the case?
    I’m not saying that there should be parity of pay with the private sector, but it’s not exactly an example of being overpaid?

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    Mute Patrick O'Dwyer
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    Sep 15th 2017, 7:19 AM

    @Les Boyd: why don’t you become a teacher so if they are that well paid .

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    Mute Les Boyd
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    Sep 15th 2017, 8:53 AM

    @Patrick O’Dwyer: because l dont have the qualifications, why dont you you become a brain surgeon

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:32 PM

    Thankfully residential rents are modest, non tracker mortgages are dirt cheap, housing is plentiful, transport is cheap, cost of living is cheap, taxes are low and the Republic of Opportunity has filled us all full of cash.

    We have never had it so good. The Reckvery is booming.

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    Mute Emmet Dillane
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:36 PM

    No problem finding millions to fight the Apple ruling against the express wishes of the electorate though Richard eh?

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    Mute Les Boyd
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:28 PM

    In what sector does a new start come in on the same wages as a experienced person , another example of the public sector flaing it

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    Mute Andy Dwyer
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:32 PM

    @Les Boyd: Well you’ve missed the whole point of the story. Well done.

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    Mute SteveÓ
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:35 PM

    @Les Boyd: no one is saying that. A teacher with 1 year experience isn’t going to be earning that same as a teacher with 20 years experience. They just want to be on the same scale, which is fair enough.

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    Mute Les Boyd
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:01 PM

    @Andy Dwyer: no Andy i haven’t usual teachers, bus men we want more, only public sec that deserves anything our Nurse,s .

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    Mute Chemical Brothers
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:31 PM

    Older teachers pulled a stroke on those younger teachers who had yet to join. This is a regular tactic in public service. Young teachers, guards, nurses screwed by those above them who didn’t want to share any pain.

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    Mute PeteMcC
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:47 PM

    @Chemical Brothers: absolutely not. Union leaders were pressurized to sell the deal to its members.

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:57 PM

    @PeteMcC: so the members didn’t vote then? It was all the unions fault and members were just following orders?

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    Mute Primusdeo
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:11 PM

    Here’s a cash saving exercise. Drastically reduce td salaries eleminate the muti pensions they get after each dail and put them on the same pension the rest of us get. Eliminate their voucher less expenses. And only allow them take out the pension when they actually retire. That should help in getting some raises for young teachers.

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    Mute Sean @114
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:42 PM

    @Primusdeo: only problem is THEY would have to vote these measures in and that would mean that all public sector workers would be subject to them. Do you honestly see that happening? Turkeys voting for Xmas.

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    Mute shits ville
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    Sep 15th 2017, 12:23 AM

    @Primusdeo: yes, reducing the wages of all of our 157 tds would give massive scope for pay rises for all of our essential public sector workers – great idea

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    Mute SheelB
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:00 PM

    Such short term thinking. We need to attract lovely young people into this profession.
    Primary is more straight forward but some new teachers into secondary have such lousy contracts – for low hours, that cannot constitute a living….

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    Mute Patabake Kennedy
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:15 PM

    @SheelB: That sounds like ageism, now where is George Hook.

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    Mute ed w
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    Sep 14th 2017, 10:10 PM

    Didn’t td’s and senior civil servants already get there pay restored and nothing could be done to stop that. Funny world.

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    Mute Ciaran O Reilly
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    Sep 14th 2017, 9:51 PM

    Here we go again, teachers throwing their toys out of the pram, holding the country to ransom.

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    Mute Louise Dunne
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:59 PM

    Let’s unrestore the TDs pay and see if they notice, or are they still on holidays… They can debate it when they return to the Dail, we’ll have a couple of quid saved by then. Cut a few pensions here and there, no pay offs for Irish water executives or commissioners etc. easily get extra cash for the children and teachers too!!

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    Mute Charles Coughlan
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    Sep 15th 2017, 1:01 AM

    Hey look over here, focus on teachers pay, forget about the huge salaries and obscene pensions that Government ministers earn…. Look it up… Fact.

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    Mute David Cullen
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:38 PM

    how about the government stop paying teachers in private schools.

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    Mute @mdmak33
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:16 PM

    Close just 1or2 loopholes in corporation tax and you could give the whole public service a pay rise.APPLE have €300bn in a offshore account from profits to date, yeah,€300 bn.

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    Mute marg fitzgerald
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:55 PM

    What tree did Tierney’s payoff grow on?

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    Mute paddlingAlong
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    Sep 14th 2017, 10:18 PM

    How much of a pay out, did Noreen get again?

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    Mute Fiachra Pollard
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:46 PM

    “..have to cut back on resources for children..”, what a load of shite! We are going to pay a few billion off our bailout debt, early, we’ve a homeless problem yet we can take in and house refugees, we were offered water meters FREE but we paid Denis O Brien over the odds for his, when water charges were scraped we heard refunds not possible yet because it would take away from something else! After all the crap in the Garda, the commissioner, who can’t find her phone, is allowed to retire early instead of being thrown out! We are being treated like fools, the money is there, if only our government could spend it properly! Ministers keep being moved to different posts, how the hell can they specialise in anything? They can’t ! If I wanted to watch a puppet show I’d go to see Punch and Judy!

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    Mute Paul Coughlan
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    Sep 14th 2017, 11:50 PM

    What a bullshitter. Minister for non education. Keep teachers down.

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    Mute John Power
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    Sep 15th 2017, 12:10 AM

    Cut politicians pay down to industrial average , then see how good they are….!

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    Mute John Stafford
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    Sep 14th 2017, 10:02 PM

    https://youtu.be/GtWA3jQN1Pg

    The people who wasted the money got bailed out on the insistence of Fg Ff and Labour.
    Everything else is squabbling.

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    Mute Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
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    Sep 15th 2017, 1:08 AM

    This is the usual rubbish from Bruton. Next he will be saying don’t pay the teachers at all. Sure it will free up resources for the children. That said the teachers themselves did themselves no favours by voting years ago to abandon the new teachers at the behest of the Government. I hope this time teachers have enough backbone to have a meaningful strike rather than bluffing because their bluff is being continually called.

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    Mute BigBear321
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    Sep 15th 2017, 12:46 PM

    @Les Boyd: My friend. Please before commenting on an issue make sure you fully understand it. New entrants are not looking for the same wages as more experienced staff. They are looking to be paid the equivalent to what those more experienced staff were when THEY started. Your understanding of the issue is clearly limited and your arguments make no sense as a result.

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    Mute Frank Brennan
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    Sep 15th 2017, 8:44 AM

    “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others “.

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    Mute Kevin Slater
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    Sep 15th 2017, 7:37 AM

    You took it away easily enough

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    Mute William Kelly
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    Sep 15th 2017, 7:48 AM

    On the basis that we live in a republic, y’ know, Egalite, Fraternite, I reckon that the lower scale rates for young teachers is unfair, but maybe should be rectified by a progressive scaling to secure equal pay on a faster table.
    Meantime, give them the exam & marking incomes, which seem to be the preserve of retired, top scale teachers.
    That’s easy to do, surely, maybe, possibly, Mr. Bruton?

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    Mute The Journal TD
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    Sep 15th 2017, 12:19 AM

    Young teacher’s need to stop complaining, they’re paid enough clearly.

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    Mute Ían Ó Ceallaigh
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    Sep 15th 2017, 7:24 AM

    @Kate Ní Bhriain MhicAodha: yes you did. You did nothing about it so accepted it.
    It’s the typical union trick, which only works in public sector long term. Take no redundancies, screw new entrants, claim to assist in wage bill reduction, then scream blue murder about new entrants a few years later.

    Senior teachers are still on economic bubble level salaries and think that is the correct amount.

    Where was benchmarking Vs private workers, on the way down?
    How many teachers were made redundant??

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    Mute James Mc Loughlin
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    Sep 15th 2017, 2:21 PM

    Would he consider reducing his own pay and expenses

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    Mute Robert Artane
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    Sep 15th 2017, 6:27 PM

    Bruton wants to STEAL CHILDRENS EDUCATION YET AGAIN LIKE THEY DID THE INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTIONS This Party will never learn they even tried hard to constantly cover up the truth this Fine Gael party and its Labour chums BLOCKED all education funds from survivors young children claiming that all relatives were included in the 2002 Redress education bill, MR BRUTON KNEW THIS WAS A LIE and STILL REPEATED THIS STATEMENT over and over again when Survivors wanted to use their own compensation from the RELIGIOUS to fund theiryoungchilds schooling as dependants who were NOT EVEN BORN during the REDRESS OF 2002 what a LOWLIFE this Minister is for sureto repetely state knowing very well young children were noteven born during the Redress of 2002 and no ducumentation to allow any child born later than the 2002 redress bill was ever written. Here he wants to lay tha THREAT of CHILDrEN to LOOSE OUT ONCE AGAIN HOW SICK to even THINK after all the CULTURAL ABUSE this PARTY HAD COMMITED against the IRISH FAMILY. THEY and LABOUR must NEVER get in ever again afterthis HOW CAN ANYONE TRUST THIS FINE GAEL AND LABOUR party ever again with their CHILDREN ? HOW they WILL PUNISH CHILDREN to fix their BOOKS but they will want a fortune in wages pensions bonuses and all expences and raises in these too? NO WAY theFINE GAEL And LABOUR haveto END and NOw the THREAT is there from Minister Bruton make the TAX PAYERS CHILDREN SUFFER you have it you read it now get them out .

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    Mute Michael Bride
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    Sep 15th 2017, 3:57 PM

    The hypocrisy is just staggering-equal pay OR child-funding; not equal pay OR taxbreaks for hoteliers, OR mollycodding of multinationals, OR subsidies for greedy employers through wage top-ups from the public purse, OR R&D write-offs for anything a tax advisor can dream up, including his own fee, OR a tax-cut for ‘middle earners’ which will benefit high-earners mostly, OR etc. etc. etc…. There’s a special place in hell for FG members AND those who vote for them!

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    Mute Paul Kersey
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    Sep 15th 2017, 12:17 PM

    Bruton is on his final tour of duty, never man enough to lead always quotes rules, useless

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    Mute Jim Hartnett
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    Sep 16th 2017, 11:59 AM

    Pathetic comment from a man who has never had to live for a minute according to the austerity principles he so willingly bestowed on the rest of mere mortals.

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