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PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins will so far not say whether he would take a further pay cut under the proposals that would succeed the Croke Park Agreement on public sector pay.
Under the proposals announced yesterday – which still require the approval of members of various unions representing public servants – Higgins would be in line for a 10 per cent cut in his €249,014 annual salary which he voluntarily cut by €76,493 in 2011.
Higgins – in addition to forgoing his Dáil pension entitlements while in the Áras – agreed to voluntarily waive 23.5 per cent of his salary in November 2011 to bring his total pay under the €250,000 cap imposed by the government.
In response to a query from TheJournal.ie on whether or not the President would take an additional 10 per cent pay cut as outlined in the Croke Park II proposals, Áras an Uachtaráin forwarded a statement from last November, outlining the 23.5 per cent voluntary pay cut.
Under the proposals Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore would see their pay drop by €14,650 and €13,096 to €185,400 and €171,300 respectively.
Cabinet Ministers would see their pay drop by €11,700 to €157,500 with the same cut applying to the Dáil Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett. Ministers of State would see their pay drop to €121,600.
All TDs would see their annual pay cut from €92,600 to €87,300. The pay of judges, senior civil servants such as Department secretaries general, and the Garda commissioner would also be cut if the proposed measures are agreed to.
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As much a fan as I am of Michael D, and commend him for the cuts he has voluntarily taken – The simple fact that he was entitled to over 325K per annum is exactly what is wrong with this country. Without drawing comparisons to Enda Kenny’s performance, could someone shed some light on why we need to pay our President €50K more than the Taoiseach (before we even consider pensions?).
Shows that not enough is being done at the top end of the public sector, and yet we are asking our frontline services to carry the brunt of the cutbacks in CP2.
Nice to know their pay will be cut,but i have a strong feeling their expenses will increase.
Not bad pay for a bunch of wasters in a bankrupt country.
Yes sir!!! Well said!
Cut the presidents pay to €100,000 max. Everything gets paid for him already in expenses so its still a great wage. If he doesn’t like it he should get the door. Plenty of people would do it for that amount.
You are spot on — it isn’t a wage , it’s his pocket money. His house is free , every bun fight he attends is free , his food? It wouldn’t surprise me if it was free — I’d like 20k a month pocket money for 7 years.
As for Mary- 14x325k Nice work
Cut the lot of them…ridiculously over paid
Do they need BMW limos or Mercs? Wouldn’t a Nissan or Volvo get them to work? Drivers? Can’t they drive? If they can’t drive, there are taxis available.
If we stop treating them like royals, they may stop thinking they are royals.
Mini Cooper for Michael D :)
Give them all horses. Bunch of f***ing cowboys.
And speaking of royals – some eejit of a TD from Kerry wants to invite Kate and bloody William over here. I know Kerry is referred to as the Kingdom but this silly attention seeking TD must think we are still under british rule. Martin Ferris will go mad.
The little f*ck should be taking a 75% paycut, he’s good for nothing, only an expensive figure head. The whole presidency should’ve been done away with after McAleese. There’s far better uses for that kind of money
The President of Iceland who stood up for his people against politicians and bankers earns around €116k pa at current exchange rates. We pay double for one who flies home from Italy to nod through dodgy government deals for bankers without even asking Supreme Court to check legality. I know who’s taxpayers are getting the better deal.
This has to be a pure f***** wind up.
A family would comfortably survive debt free on half of what a TD is going to forfit.let alone the leeches above them…
Talk about rubbing our noses in it !!!
Im confused, a family wold comfortably survive debt free on half of what a TD is going to forfit? 6,000?
Well Conor to assist in easing your confusion .
If you have nothing coming into a household and someone hands you 500 euro a month for scratching your arse,do you not think that would go a long way…. no ?????
I do and whats more,the shower of paracites in the dail do f***** nothing to justify the colossal wages they get and as for the thieves and disgusting liars that have gone before them that are still reaping the rewards !!!!.
Mike I have read your comments to a number of articles and I must say they bore me. They are the usual yaboo anti-politics drivel that is popular but makes no contribution to the national discourse. It might help somewhat if you had a little think about what you are going to post before you pressed send…
Bernard. After reading your comment and pondering your dilemma I have come to the conclusion that I really don’t give a **** about you being bored .
If you don’t like it then just pass it over like a good lad.
250.000 wages and all bills paid all expences paid for seven years is obscene
What do you think of, being a miniswter for two years and getting a pension for life?
sure the poor thing like enda and bertie and the rest they can’t possibly live on anything less than 150k a year because in there eyes we the people should be dam happy to pay there huge fat wage packets and take all the pain!
No wonder they can’t understand why the rest of us are struggling to feed our families. The Soviet Union of Ireland.
Try to be more positive comrade.
Ahh how well they manage on that money very sad. Not one if them are worth it I would not give them a €
Seeing as his job is symbolic he should be paid what people on the dole are paid.
He does exactly nothing.
*Accidental double send.
(Sometimes touch screens are not as certain as pressing down on a physical keyboard!)
Even with the cuts the presidential salary is far too high considering there housed for their term. I have no doubt Higgins will take the cut.
Endas and Gilmores pay should be halved there its an obscene amount of money considering they are the ones telling us how bad things are.
The President has a residence, which he is required to be in for most of the week, but I’m fairly certain most Presidents have maintained a personal house while in office, for their family, etc. and on account of it being their home – in the same way that Dáil TDs from outside Dublin genuinely require a residence inside the city (although it isn’t a legal obligation for them, like it is the President).
I’m not defending €250’000 though, most people must maintain a house on a fraction of the cost. I’m just saying that the fact that he has a state residence shouldn’t impact on his pay.
He should be charged rent on that place then.
The mileage expenses claimed by politicians and other entitled public servants in this country are ridiculous. If they are driving a 2008/2009 car with an engine greater than 1.6 litres they’re entitled to 78.76c per km. I work in a profit making multinational who pay 43.1c per km. How can a bankrupt government justify this? Just to put that in perspective on a return trip to Galway from the Dail they would be getting €329 into their bank account while the petrol cost would be a fraction of this.
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it51.html
It’s 59.07 cent since 5/3/09 according to the link
Under the proposals Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore would see their pay drop by €14,650 and €13,096 to €185,400 and €171,300 respectively.
Cabinet Ministers would see their pay drop by €11,700 to €157,500 with the same cut applying to the Dáil Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett. Ministers of State would see their pay drop to €121,600.
All TDs would see their annual pay cut from €92,600 to €87,300. The pay of judges, senior civil servants such as Department secretaries general, and the Garda commissioner would also be cut if the proposed measures are agreed to.
Knowing this, I’m all for this pay cut…
Not enough. Kenny is on 200k right now. A 10% cut, while still pretty small for somebody with that level of discretionary income, is 20k.
why are you the journal, not carrying this momentous story, Tom Darcy took on the banks of Ireland and the supreme court has judged in his favour, the AIB were operating illegally for years without a license, thousands of Iirsh familys could be saved with this judgement.
Dave, please explain, haven’t heard about it, I’d say most of these ministers won’t be running in the next election, take there money and pensions and run, labour will end up like the Green Party
Go to TNS solutions… He gave an exceptional interview there.
Journalist seem either uninterested or believe the bank, what does that tell us?
Still over paid cowboys there are some families living on 20k a year its absolutely ridiculous and as someone said earlier their expenses will probably go up! They shud be jailed
Tom Darcy
15 minutes ago ·
Our citizens oppressed by unjust taxes that compensate the very perpetrators of criminal actions that caused this , our children going to school hungry, our sick and infirm denied proper health care, our families fragmented and evicted from their homes, our elderly dying of cold, it is 12 days since I became the first person in our states history to level criminal charges against the AIB plc and its Directors Dan O Connor, John O Donnell, Richard Pritchard, Dick Spring, Michael J Sullivan, Nick Tremble, Adrian Burke, Jim O Leary, Bernard Somers, Robbie Henneberry and Declan Collier, An Garda Siochana initiated a criminal investigation based on corruption and fraudulently obtaining a banking licence, the consequence for every person reading this is- at the end of every financial agreement the Bank states they will uphold the laws of Ireland. They did not. I ask every person affected by debt in this country, every student across Ireland, every pensioner to add your name to my statement and seek your own criminal investigation into your own Irish unlicensed Bank criminal actions, change can only be achieved by action. Change is up to you, to get a copy of my Garda Statement email me changeisuptoyou@gmail.com you can face book me or twitter me at changeisuptoyou. 12 days and no member of the Irish media has reported this?? Yet I Informed the Supreme court of Ireland last Friday of An Garda Siochana ( IRISH POLICE) Criminal investigation into AIB. PLEASE POST THIS TO EVERYONE YOU CAN, I ASK STUDENDS WHO READ THIS TO SEND IT ACROSS THE WORD, CHANGE IS UP TO YOU !
Well done lads ive been following this story what happens next??
A lot of money for a hobbit .
I am “fortunate” to have a job and am not paid for another 3 weeks. I am skint. He is on how fcuking much for doing what?
It is really important that the President as well as other former Officer Holders, particularly those in the previous Administration stand in national solidarity and take a cut in their extremely generous salaries and/or pensions
That would be a massive saving if we got rid of the president and all it’s trimmings. It must cost millions to run the aras with staff, bills, maintenance security etc. those millions could put a serious amount of patrol cars on the streets. The senate is another waste of money especially when u have anti firefighter comments coming out of the place.
Isn’t a 10% pay cut meant to apply to those earning over €185,000? As the Taoiseach’s currently earning €200,000 shouldn’t his cut be €20,000 as opposed to €14,650?
Best yet is that in Ireland an Independent TD, of which there are 20, are entitled to claim a Party Leaders allowance, despite not being part of a party.
This allowance totals at over €205,000 per TD (tax free) over the term of the government. That’s 20 Independents multiplied by 205,000 equals €4,100,000!!!!!!
How is this not fraud? They are NOT party leaders. They are Independent TD’s… How are they allowed to claim this revenue from the State?
Unreal. Merkel must have this on the back of her mind every time dealing with Kenny and Co. Over paid little shites!
The president of Poland receives just €33k where ours take 8 times it and a “leader” who has sat on his whole for 35 years managing potholes in Mayo thinks he now deserves this pay plus enormous pension?
IF any thing comes of this and is past, any reductions will only be token gestures. €14k off €180k is peanuts compared to someone on €35k taking a further 3-8% cut.
We are up to our eye balls in debt, still deep in recession and need years of this austerity yet Kenny and Co. cant live on less than €150k a year? Greedy, self loathing,thieving, deceitful clowns the lot of them.
All TD’s should be on €55k tops. Ministers €65K tops. Taoiseach €70. President €70.
If they dont like it, then move on and let someone who is more interested in development and betterment of the country to take their place for the wage offered. This gravy train has gone on far too long at the expense of every single person on this Island and don’t forgot that’s what we are, a small low populated Island off Europe massively in debt.
To even contest a true meaningful pay-cut should be enough to see them for what they truly are, simple parasites.
No public servant should be on more than 100k. This will prove they are doing the job for the good if the country and not the massive pay with expenses.
Pointless cutting the salaries of TD and other politicians if they still enjoy an unlimited expense package for mileage etc .
Imagine these people in power trying to survive on 188 per week.
We don’t need a president, just another overpaid useless politician git!
Quarter of a million a year is too much for that made up Job.
What the hell does that man need the money for?
Sure he already has one foot in the grave.
The Politicians of this Country have Ireland ruined with their pure unadulterated greed.
We dont need a president we have enough representation as it is and even that is too much to bear
I don’t think he should take another cut, the man doesn’t rest! he’s highly qualified and he could walk into a job that would pay him well over what he’s getting (though that might have to be in another country). He’s a blessing amongst the other charlatans.
Where is this job? Will do up his CV for free and pay for postage.
I also want to know where all these wonderful high paying jobs are, that our politicians are so well qualified for.
What a moron president we have chosen, guys, ha?!!
It’s the td,s pay and expenses of €47,000 (forty seven thousand) on average each for every single one of them, that’s the crazy thing, that’s on top of their wages. Expenses include turning up 4 work travel clothes make up we are silly to put up with it. Different committees allowance pure pure madness and they screw the rest of us just wait for next election they are toast and good riddance ……
250 grand. That’s a lot of shit for one little man.
Scandalous money from Michael d down…… What planet do these people live on??
Good value, €50,000 per inch.
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