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That does leave us in a position where it’s not clear to any of us what’s going to happen next.
NPHET’s Professor Philip Nolan warned that it’s not clear whether Covid-19 case numbers will rise or fall over the coming days and weeks.
We’re not here for fun. We’re here because the political establishment does not care. We can’t just park these issues during the pandemic.
Former Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger speaking at a protest held in solidarity with demonstrations across the world following the death of Sarah Everard.
I spent 28 years crying, looking for my child, and they found them within a week. They lived 45 minutes away from me.
A survivor of a mother and baby home shared her story.
While a balance must be struck, easing restrictions on worship has a better founded statutory claim than other activities which may be pressed by powerful commercial interests.
Dermot Farrell, Archbishop of Dublin, called for an easing of restrictions on public worship.
I must acknowledge that the Russian prison system has managed to surprise me. I couldn’t imagine that it was possible to set up a real concentration camp within 100 kilometres from Moscow.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on his imprisonment in Russia.
I think women’s rugby, very luckily, is one of the places in the world where you can be anything you want to be.
Ireland flanker Anna Caplice spoke to The42 about how people are finally starting to see the women’s game for what it is.
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I’m a fecking postman in D2, I’m travelling 30km and 30 out every day to come to work and the only thing that An Post is the fingers. I’ve got colleagues that they travel every “day and night” to work from places as far as Gorey and Athy and receive the same payment from An Post. So I don’t understand why these gobsite have to get travel expenses and all the rest when the rest of us get fuckall?
Sorry for the words missing I rushed the comment!
Travel expenses anger me. They chose to become TD’s so therefore they were aware of the travel expense before they got the position. I travel 1300KM every week, round trip, Offaly to Dublin for my job and I get nothing for this, nor did I expect to get anything. No allowance, no ability to claim tax relief, I do get to pay an average of €550 a month in Diesel costs.
There should be no unvouched expenses at all.
Exactly Wurple. In the current situation we find ourselves we should be looking at totally revisiting all these bloated issues that are a hangover of corrupt parish pump politics and the celtic fecking tiger. We should be looking at making the Dail work more efficiently (as that’s what they’re attempting to do with the country), along the lines of a business model.
The very least of that is verified expenses paid in arrears.
Get rid of such blatant expenses as laundry (laundry! What other job in the country gets laundry expenses????)
Let’s see some leadership in austerity rather than a dictator.
There should be no expenses at all when there are houses being re possessed people being taken to court for debt and worst of all children going to school hungry because of the way the greedy self serving bastards in this and previous governments have mismanaged the economy. Pigs and troughs comes to mind again.
We are fools governed by greedy Idiots.
I am donating a kidney to my brother. the whole process has been going on now for quiet a while. We were told this week that funding might be an issue. People are going to die in our hospitals while that shower live it up on expenses. We are a warrior nation. Why are we not fighting??
You are fantastic, hope it happens & good luck.
You are a wonderful person, the best gift you can ever give. Hope it all works out. Pity our politicians weren’t as selfless.
Because we’ve turned into a nation of docile litle sheep that’s afraid to do anything because of what the neighbors(the joneses) might think of them,because politics has been dictating what we should be doing over the last 90 years as they line there pockets..DIE ON YOUR FEET FOLKS,OR BEG FOR SCRAPS ON YOUR KNEE’S……………….
The beast is awakening my friends, be patient
Neil get spellcheck lol!!!!!
€28,100 for a commute from Kildare to Dublin? I suspect that’s more than the national average salary alone! It would certainly pay for a full time SNA. And do these guys not get €90k as well?? What a joke. It’s disgusting.
If you live less than 25 kilometres from the Dail, how could it possibly cost a 1000 euro a month to get there and back? That’s about 50 quid a day in expenses when you live just around the corner..
Bucket List #1……. Must become a politician for a term. That will pay for the other 9 list adventures!
People before profit average 31k. Time for a name change i think.
It seems that none of them can resist our low hanging fruit… Except Eamon.
How true Leslie,I am neutral on party’s by the way. My father has a large truck(10 ton) for him to be flat out busy hauling 10 tons of material 5 days a week he would go through about €900-€1100 in fuel. How can these TD’s be claiming €1200 a week,it’s bloody mental… Do you get money from your boss to go to work?? If of course your lucky enough to have a job!!!
If i asked my boss for an allowance to get to work i know what the response would be.
A year of worth regular person salary in unvouched expenses. Mad.
There should be receipt for EVERY penny. And strict list of items that can be claimed back.
Also 90k a year? CLEARLY idea that will get us best is not working. Slash it to 45 – 50. This position is a privilege, not a bleedin lotto win…
They should be ashamed of this. Fair play to TD who refused to claim anything.
TD, I think you meant…
This is a depressing read. I live in Dublin and commute to work in Scotland. I pay all my tax in Ireland. Yet according to the revenue none of my travel expenses or the €7000 I paid last year in B&B accommodation are allowable claims.
I live 40 miles from where I work. I have a car which I got with a loan, I pay insurance, tax, nct, diesel maintenance on it. That is all paid for using the money I earn from my salary!! Why should my employer pay that? Why does someone that potentially lives next door to Leinster house get 12k in travel expenses?? Surely shoes dont cost that much a year?? I am paying for my transport using what’s left of my wages when tax is deducted so I can pay for a td to walk to work!! F**k that…c***s!!
Interesting how little time it has taken most new TDs to climb aboard the gravy train.
scrap all expensives,they get well paid and lavish pensions.
Write it down..when they’re knocking on the door at the next election..wave this shite in their faces and ask them how one Irish person can get so much money unvouched when the rest of us struggle to keep the lights on and the heating going….they’re pigs at a trough.. I’m alright..pull up the ladder once more!
Next time they knock on your door ask the people with them how much they’re being paid to canvas. I believe Willie O’Dea ran up something like €16k in expenses for people to canvas on his behalf.
And you can be guaranteed that the canvassers are paid into their hand and not paying tax on it!!!
If you live 26 kilometres from the Dail the payment jumps hugely to 2,342 euro a month or about 106 quid a day.. I know they are crucifying us with petrol and diesel cost but come on!!
Well sure these privileged people should not be taking the bus like anyone of us who cannot afford a car.i am sure they have their car and their chauffeur for which the taxpayer has to throw money down the drain. I spend 60 quid a month for a bus eireann commuter ticket to get around Cork an have to take 2 busses every day.that journey takes me an hour every day. Travel in style or luxury? Well I can’t say that but sure if we can, they should be doing the same. But hey, they are the privileged ones,not us…
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there’s no love like the love a politician has for himself.
Clearly, austerity measures have not come in to play for the select public representatives while Joe Soap is being fleeced. Go to http://www.quinn-anglo-story-blogspot.com to read more astonishing revelations of how billions of euros of taxpayers money is being squandered without any accountability.
It’s a disgrace ! Scumbag Tds in government yet again taking the piss out of the average joe soap’s wage with the thousands of pound claims which even with receipts is not justified in my eyes and they have a cheek to impose further tax on us, it’s like the film robin-hood at this stage !
If you won 2million on the lotto and invested it in a bank deposit after all taxes dirt ect you would receive just over 2% nett approx 40000 a year about the same as the average expenses claimed by TDs so don’t do the lotto get elected
This is a complete disgrace or in other words disgusting. I was at a bus stop on Tuesday last week and a lady in her 70s asked do I like my job, that I’m lucky I do etc. We got speaking about her life. She is worried about her future now, she has very little money, her house is her but it’s very cold, her husband is dead so she is alone.. She gets less help with money from our government now – her words!! She love porridge do that’s cheap – her words!! Apart from all that these men and women built Ireland not this disgraceful TDs taking even penny left.,
Loving how “People Before Profit” are joint highest for expenses in my area. They should replace their buzz words of ‘disadvantaged’ and ‘austerity’ and replace them with hypocrisy and cushy… If they want to claim they fight for the working poor then perhaps they need to sit back and think how they can possibly relate to their constituents when they’re earning double, triple, quadruple more than those on minimum wage or on the dole.
No one should get travel expenses unless they live outside of Leinster. So many ordinary people have to make long commutes into Dublin and get nothing back for it.
Even if you are claiming expenses, they should be 100% vouched or else face disciplinary proceedings through SIPO. The fact that Donnelly will be returning many thousands of Euros shows how generous the current regime is.
David they are travellers and you just thought no travellers in the dail
45K for Nash and 48K for Adams in Louth – just up the road on the M1.
Slightly more contrasting – €51k for Pearse Doherty compared with €18K for Dinny McGinley.
I heard Doherty on the radio last year calling for pooled travel arrangements for Donegal South West TDs to save money. My impression was that the others were wasters compared to him. Doherty and McGinley live near to each other.
A T.D from Navan is claiming nearly 50k a year expenses? It takes 40 minutes to get to Dublin, this gravy train has to stop
Dublin Central TD’s are the worst!! They could walk to work!!!
I claim expenses in my job but if I lose the receipt then tough luck on me, no such thing as free money in my job, looks like they have it though!!!
I’m so angry at the moment, I think my head is going to explode. I get up at 6.15am in the morning and spend four hours travelling to and from work by public transport. As I’m the sole breadwinner now and my husband is not entitled to anything from the state, there have been weeks where I haven’t had the money for my bus fare and I’ve had to borrow it. Then I read about these overpaid ******* who seem do absolutely nothing but spend my tax money. When are we going to stand up to these people. We have bent over so much that we are now lying on the ground as they walk all over us. I absolutely hate every one of them regardless of political party, they’ve all got their snouts in the trough and couldn’t give a damn about the people of this country.
Is such a disgrace u get sick wen u c dem on tele lying and lying…omg…i want to SREeeeeeeeeeam..
Sibhs. I think the word you were to polite to write is “Bastards”.
Imagine what they would be claiming if we were not watching….I would love to see if there are any strange items like a donkey ride on Blackpool beach or a ‘dance’ in some nice club…. Do they itemise,? if so please tell me where so i can have a good laugh.
itemise? they don’t even need to provide receipts…
It’s clearly an allowance, real expenses vary from month to month depending on business need how can they claim the exact same amount every month down to the cent! And I also agree that every cent should be vouched for, I work in the private sector if I don’t provide receipts for expenses they get revoked, right out of my current account!
I find it a little weird that some of the numbers repeat themselves e.g. there are 15 TDs with vouched expenses all of which total €31,865.51 all with the exact same amount each month.
I contracted for a while and each month would send my expenses to an accountant, I don’t think there was any month where my expenses were the same; one month I’d need paper for the printer, the next month it would be something else. The amounts were always different.
How can 15 TDs all submitting receipts all have the same amount for every month and the same total for the year?
1. All TD salaries fixed at €60,000 per annum regardless of ministerial positions (including Taoiseach)
2. No expenses.
3. There is no point 3!
Rock on Mark completely agree.
we are starting a campaign to decrease TD’s wages , have a look at
http://www.facebook.com/1525PayDecreaseForAllTds
Thinking you are entitled to 50k expenses is proof positive that you’re completely out of touch & no longer capable of representing the people you asked to vote for you. It should actually be a reason for loosing your Dail seat … delusional behaviour that causes harm to others.
I have sent an email to all 3TDs in my area asking them can they justify their expenses,if they don’t respond i will go to their clinics.I suggest every annoyed citizen do the same.
Norman, they are unvouched, so I think they don’t have to justify them.
I don’t care that they are unvouched – they still have to justify taking 50k from the system at a time when they are telling us to pull on the green jersey, accept our medicine, …. argh. Seriously, its not about whether its legal or not, its about the bloody ethics of people calling themselves public representatives and accepting 50k expenses in this ecomonic climate!!!!
How the hell can Micheal Ring charge 11k expenses yet Mulherrin and Callery charge nearly or above 50k!!!!! The 3 of them live in the same county and roughly the same distance from Dublin!!!
I spent 14 months travelling to Dublin for work which I HAVE to as my work is in Dublin, yet I didn’t get expenses, as it was MY CHOICE.
So is it a big “Ta da” to the politicians that they discover all of a sudden that the Dail is in Dublin and they have to get expenses!!!!!!!! ITS WHERE THEY WORK!!!! ITS THERE CHOICE TO WORK THERE.
Jesus Christ above but them fkn pr*CKs expect us to fork out 100 euro for house charge, 50 for septic, x% on VHI, etc etc etc etc .
sorry about the foul language but I am fit to be tied reading that.
Suddenly I feel a strong urge to become a TD.
Fascinating! All of “my” three TDs (Roscommon/Leitrim) claimed EXACTLY € 49,911.37. It’s great to see that kind of cross-party cooperation!
Davis Stanton (TD in my area) accrued over 51k? WTF he doesn’t even have a ministry. Honestly Im fit to be tied. This shower of crooks need to be ran out of office. Absolute disgrace.
I thought Gerry Adams/SF mantra was that he was surviving on the “average industrial wage” – easily done if you claim 48k in expenses.
Just think folks it would take at least 24 famlies paying the Household Charge to cover the expenses of the lowest claiming TD.They are destroying us to enrich themselves.Sinn Fein out saying another Mini Budget on the way.They better start any cuts with themselves.
Mary-Lou McD ain’t gonna starve anyway! That’s for sure!!
Here’s the thing the SWP/PBPA should bare in mind – you don’t get to shout from the hilltops about how you only take the average industrial wage, if your expenses packet amounts to another average industrial wage, especially when the rest of your pay goes straight back to the Party. The pontificating from them seems nausiating now.
Both TD’s live in Dublin – aside from getting the bus in to work each day what legit expenses could they possibly accrue? And I’m sorry but this average industrial wage bollocks doesn’t wash when you’re claiming just as much in expenses and mowing the rest of your actual pay into the party. Who loses in that arrangement? The taxpayer…
And what is the craic with Seamus Healy? Workers and Unemplyed Actin Group? Nearly 50K in expenses? He’s having a laugh…
Their wages and expenses are the reason they are so far removed from the day to day reality of living in this kip of a country, it’s the same old story nothing has changed, I am going to be telling my kids to leave this cess pit of incompetence as there is no future here for them, I am fucking furious that buffoons and spoofers are claiming so much money on top of their salary and in the same breath saying we have to pay more tax on everything,
Can the Irish taxpayer request to see receipts for these alledged expenses!
They’re unvouched that is way alot of claims are similar in amount and why you will never see a recipt.Anyway no need for a recipt as our TDs are an honest,honourable group of people with our best interests at heart(NOT).
That’s what I was wondering..thanks Norman…everyone in this country should be using the truck drivers protest as a reason to join in and represent…block up everything lads this is a perfect opportunity to arrange the 22nd of feb off work and go to Dublin in protest….. C’mon Ireland….
It’s great to read all the comments, I thought it was just me that get’s sick when our ‘beloved’ mention the ” taxpayer”
That’s who they are claiming from, but no shame in taking childrens money, hospital money, old age pension money, there ‘expenses’ must be covered. (and no shame)
Surely something must be done, if they don’t want the job, without expenses, then so be it, but by Christ, something must be done.
Jack
James Reilly my local TD earns more in travel expenses than I do in my salary , I also live about 10km further away from my place of wrk than he does & i commute every day.
Hes also a millionaire does he really need the expenses why don’t you ask him at his next clinic.See will he justify them.
Every receipt for every cent should be in the public forum.
TDs claiming twice the average household income in expenses? What a joke.
Links not opening!!
Hi Darren (and his 10 thumber-uppers) – there was a small glitch with the URL which meant it couldn’t be viewed to the public. Should be fixed now – if you’re on an app, you might have difficulty getting the new URL, in which case you can click here.
It’s like ‘Brewster’s Millions’ in that place.
This is exactly why the country got into this mess.. this is exactly why this country is still in this mess, this is exactly why this country needs to stand up to this mess.
This expense system, like the HSE’s and actually every public sector expense system, is archaic! It is open to abuse and totally unrealistic. For the love of logic and common sense this is a golden opportunity for reform. When public vs private sector arguments are made I usually shun them. But for f*** sake this definitely one where public sector falls down against the private sector.
This would be an easy thing to solve with a private sector vouched / approved expense system model.
The fact this archaic ridiculous system still exists tells it’s own tale.
these ‘expensis’ arn’t even for 12 months as with holidays the dail only sits for about 9 months of the year (if that)
so the likes of the 25km for 12,000 euro works out at more han a grand a month, its time these jokers were held to account, 90k a year basic salery and still ‘entitled to expensis? they should have to pay their own way like the rest ofus, blood sucking leeches everyone of them. no wonder the countries shagged.
Whats more shocking is the lack of anger here, just as mild indifference…
These guys are doing a great job in tough times so why shouldn’t they get their expenses. They are the people who were elected to govern the land so it’s only natural they should be entitled to privileges ordinary folk aren’t. Maybe if everyone else spent more time concentrating on making money rather than bitching about what others have then the country would be in better shape!
Elected to govern, yes, rape and pillage the land even further? No, I don’t think so..
It’s our money we are bitching about.
they get paid 90,000 to do that in the first place and then they get paid further just to show up!!!!! when does that ever happen in the real world. politics is sick in this country and sums up everything wrong with this country. “take as much as you can and f**k everyone else”.I going down to my local td and asking can he put my heating bill on his expenses account.
So we are just ordinary folk !!!!! . I thought all people are equals, I suppose Kenny got expenses for a visit to the hair dresser, after Sarkozy messed it up . You are obivously connected to the golden circle .These guys remind me a little of your profile picture, backs turned to the people.
They are getting paid what the average joe would get for working a full just to show up for work… You honestly think that is fair?
They where only elected cause there was nobody else! Do you honestly think their doing a great job????? My God you don’t get out much do you!
I live in the city center so I dont need to use buses so can someone tell me how much an annual Bus/Rail ticket???
Why cant they just dip into thier 90,000 euros and buy one. Its a fuckin disgrace what we the people allow them to get away with it. And we do, we sit here everyday arguing among ourselves the rights and wrongs of the financial crisis and the waste of space government, instead of going out and marching on the dail demanding they call both a referendum and a general election.
Fine Gael are and always have been a gang of right wing fascists and as for Labour, well thier nothing more than a bunch of chameleons that change colour and tack everytime they are elected.
I wonder does John Perry claim exps for attending funerals ? That might explain a lot.
I’ll be emailing my local Crooks to tell them how I feel about these disgusting expenses. This is a joke people! Please everybody Start emailing these leeches & tell em how we feel. It’s time for change on their part!
Are links working?
Hi Dave – there was a small glitch with the URL which meant it couldn’t be viewed to the public. Should be fixed now – if you’re on an app, you might have difficulty getting the new URL, in which case you can click here.
What shocks me is the lack of anger on this thread….
I just noticed the “Report Abuse” button at the bottom of the page… Click click click…
Actually, I don’t have a problem with the principle of travel expenses, its only fair for those further away. However, a TDs salary should be capped at the national average, and expenses capped at the lower levels of those in the public service (still generous).
there is no mention of the other retainer i.e 41000 euro family income supplement where spouse is registered as his secretary. surely there are enough civil servants / co.council secrataries with little or nothing to do who could take these calls and save this salary. b.cowen used to spend most of his time in dublin, but i am sure he also claimed the money for 2nd home and travel expenses. we need to clean up this expenses act and every td should have their monthly expenses published on line it is OUR MONEY after all.
Jesus, luke Ming is one greedy fucker.
€50k, that would buy a whole heap of turf, or other substances that can be burned!
The figures are shocking, pack of leeches.
I thought the Dail was closed for several weeks in the summer, also for Christmas holidays – so if you are not at work and don’t travel you don’t claim. If you check the spreadsheet you find that the same amount as been claimed for these weeks of closure. Something stinks here!!
Scum one scum all
re tds expenses: can a td claim for exorbitant travelling expenses if he is getting an allowance for dwelling in dublin or does he claim the local dublin rate ( which should be abolished ). also as well as travelling expenses to work they claim an allowance for actually being in work on top of their lucrative salary
Showing up to work 30 odd times a year costs 50k? Reduce the numbers of TD’s.
Give them free travel passes. And invest in permanent accommodation near Leinster house.
It wont change, in fact it will get worse. One thing the Irish are very good at is shouting about things like this. We never get out and demonstrate or publicly show our disapproval and try to enact change from our public officials. We should be following the example of the French and Greeks.
Leinster House should be stormed and all TDs made pay back ALL expenses, with or without receipts. 6 million euros a year for what?? A pack of gangsters who are pocketing extra money on top of the 90,000 that they already get for doing nothing. Serious need to change laws in Ireland. An absolute disgrace..
Disgusting! Until this scum realises that this theft is not going to be tolerated, it will not stop.
Everybody should watch George Orwell’s animal farm and realise what to do.
That’s a really good pic of Enda, nice tie aswell.
They are claiming over €50,000 a year when their already on a salary of over €100,000 for what????
Yet every time they get the chance their cutting our money down bit by bit but its alrite so long as they swan around without a care in the world.
A joke of a government!
I mean enda Kenny spent 25000 e in a pub on “expenses” in one night. Give the citizens of Ireland €25000 nd I guarantee it wouldn’t be wasted down the pub.
And if we don’t get these people out now and change the way the system works, once their there over 2 years they can also claim pensions of over 100,000 even though the pension age is 65.
The hole system needs reform nd first thing is for these shower of hypocrites to be told to F**k off as they done nothing but gave us empty promises, then done nothing but introduced a load of taxes charges etc etc.
A working Irish citizen lives off approx €35,000 a year and ye have the cheek to tell us that this budget will be the toughest ever, we,re hearing the same line since 2008 but we don’t see ye taking any payouts.
The wages and expenses of the dail are absolutely fukin ridiculous, I wouldn’t mind if they were actuali working for the people but their NOT, why don’t they pay the debts of the banks themselves their making 3 times more than what we do.
Yet we are just leaving them come at us with everything and bearing the brunt of it.
They will have us back in the times of the famine while they swan around with their ridiculous wages even though it is not the people of Ireland,s debt.
They make me sick.
http://www.change.org/petitions/supporting-the-irish-nation-step-down-from-government
well am so GLAD THE WICKLOW BOYS AN GIRLS got all there expenses. THEY are so entilited to have . NOT much differance between any of them.
Tried to search the speadsheet with the Tools dropdown but, none of their names were on it-surely they should all be under the heading tools? :)
On a serious note, most of these guys have already well exceeded what my wages would have been before tax/ levys/ deductions in my old job! I had colleages travelling from Mullingar and Longford to Dublin everyday and back every night and they were on the same as me-the cheek, the bare faced utter cheek, what gives them the right? Why are we such walkovers? Are we really letting them away with this? Nobody should be treated like this-we elected them, they serve us, they represent us-why oh why does it feel like we’re wearing bibs and being screwed! Do they all just sit around leinster house and rub their hands together, nesting on pots of gold?
have your say