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Political painter Kaya Mar poses with a painting depicting the G8 world leaders, left ‘plus five’ leaders, right, pointing towards each other in blame for world problems as ‘the planet is sinking’ according to him. Pic: AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis
THE 39TH G8 Summit of world leaders gets under way in Northern Ireland later today.
The meeting is taking place in the luxurious surroundings of the Lough Erne Golf Resort just outside Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh amid tight security and the expectation of protests.
The summit attracts the leaders of the world’s leading industrial nations and representatives from the European Union. But what’s it all about and what can we expect from the summit? TheJournal.ie explains…
The G8 are the world’s leading industrialised nations – France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Russia.
In addition to this, and as home to 500 million people and 20 per cent of global gross domestic product, the European Union also participates in talks via the presidents of the European Council and European Commission. However, the EU cannot host or chair summits.
Here are the leaders we can expect to see a lot of in the coming day or two:
Click here to see a larger version of this image. Source: Wikipedia
The group originated in 1975 when it was actually six countries – France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – thus it became known as the ‘Group of Six’ or G6. The following year Canada joined to make it the G7 with the EU also participating. In 1997 a post-communist Russia was added to the group.
Initially the countries came together in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and one of the worst economic crises since the Great Depression. Finance ministers of the US, UK, France and West Germany met informally to talk about how they could solve the economic problems caused by the imposition of an oil embargo by Arab nations.
This led to a first formal meeting of these four countries, along with Japan and Italy, on the invitation of French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing in 1975. The advantage of this summit to any other was that it allowed leaders to speak in a relaxed, informal setting. It all went so swimmingly that they agreed to do it every year under a rotating presidency.
As the years have rolled on the summits have become less informal, more structured and organised with a heavy security presence at each to protect these important world leaders and manage inevitable protests.
With the presidency rotating on an annual basis it is up to the president of the G8 to set the agenda and organise ministerial level meetings as well as the main summit of leaders of each country.
The official literature will tell you that the summits are “a forum that provides the opportunity for its members to co-operate in addressing global challenges”. That’s close enough to what actually happens.
Usually members will set out to tackle global issues through discussion and action and will try to reach a common consensus. There is usually a significant amount of groundwork done before the summit in the hope by that the time they meet over two-days during the summer leaders will find that consensus.
When it was originally set up the summits focused on economic and trade matters but in recent years they have focused on setting out ways of providing aid to the developing world, global security, the situation in the Middle East, and energy efficiency, which was big on the agenda in 2007 and 2008.
Pink Floyd reunited for Live 8 and the Make Poverty History campaign in 2005.
Before that, in 2005, many of you may remember the Live 8 concerts which urged leaders to Make Poverty History by forgiving third world debt and coming up with better ways of delivering aid, and more of it.
Other matters on the agenda in more recent years have been climate change, the situation in Syria, the global economic crisis and the debt crisis in the eurozone. This year the G8 is going back to its roots with economic and trade matters big on the agenda.
The G8 should not be confused with some sort of administrative structure that comes up with laws and enforces them. It is not like the United Nations, the European Union or the World Bank. There are no permanent staff, no budgets and no offices.
With no secretariat and no policy-making powers the G8 can only agree on policies by consensus but has no way of ensuring compliance with these policies. There are no real checks and balances to make sure targets - if indeed there really are any - are met.
The only real clout of the G8 lies in its power and the fact that collectively the eight countries are responsible for around 50 per cent of global gross domestic product.
Members of international relief group Oxfam dressed as the G8 leaders in 2008
This is an accusation often leveled against the summits and their effectiveness particularly given the cost and the disruption they can cause in the area where they take place.
Furthermore, one of the world's largest and fastest-growing economies, China, is not among the G8 membership and neither is India nor any Latin American or African country.
This leads critics, and those often found protesting at summits, to say that the G8 consists only of an elite, self-selected group of industrialised nations, who are formulating policies and positions at the expense of everyone else.
Luckily, my colleague Gavan Reilly prepared this answer earlier.
As chair of the discussions, Britain has three priorities - advancing global trade, ensuring tax compliance, and promoting greater transparency.
Prime Minister David Cameron has made the issue of tax transparency a priority particularly in the wake of a number of scandals in the UK relating to multinationals like Starbucks, Google, and Amazon not paying enough tax.
Since 2009 and the global economic crisis, summits have focused on growing the world economy and writing in the Wall Street Journal last month, Cameron said that completing a set of proposed trade deals could boost the income of the world economy by as much as $1 trillion.
British Prime Minister David Cameron
There's a big EU-US trade deal that has been in the pipeline for a while and Cameron will hope to advance discussions on that - even though he plans to hold a referendum on Britain's EU membership if re-elected in two years - as well as another mooted trade agreement between the EU and Canada.
On tax evasion and avoidance, Cameron believes that collective international action is the key here and talks about governments sharing information and setting international standards to ensure that no corporation can get away with not paying a fair amount of tax.
The EU estimates that every year around €1 trillion is lost in tax evasion and avoidance, that's the equivalent of the entire EU budget for seven years. The Guardian has a good summary of Cameron's tax wishlist and the troubles he will face getting what he wants.
On transparency, Cameron talks about creating partnerships with developing countries and emerging economies including those countries described as 'resource-rich' - usually nations with mineral wealth.
The idea is that these countries be given the requisite support to ensure that businesses operating in them are acting in a fair and proper manner and that these developing nations' resources are not lost to conflict, corruption and crime as has happened in the past.
Syria is also expected to be big on the agenda as the west struggles to even get both sides of the conflict there to the table for a peace conference. Other priorities at the summit including preventing sexual violence in conflict, establishing a global dementia initiative, rebuilding Somalia, supporting African development, and tackling global terrorism.
Barbed wire around the area of Lough Erne
As G8 president, it is at the discretion of the British government to choose the venue and this year it settled on Lough Erne. The location, a golf resort, is a few miles outside Enniskillen. In recent years more remote locations have been chosen in order to try and deter protesters from descending on a venue.
A metal barrier is being erected that will stretch for miles around the resort in attempt keep protesters out and the government here has just passed a law that will allow it to shut down the mobile phone networks if there are fears of a terrorist attack.
There will be additional police numbers and there is close coordination between the PSNI and gardaí with the summit just 11 miles from the Republic's border.
Despite holding the EU presidency there is no formal role for Ireland or its head of government but given that the summit is only up the road, David Cameron extended an invitation to Enda Kenny to attend this week's event.
"This invitation reflects the fact that relations between Ireland and Britain are stronger than ever, as well as the particular choice of location for the summit," Kenny told the Dáil last week.
On the fringes of the summit, Kenny met with Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper yesterday and is expected to meet with Japanese prime minister Shinjo Abe later this week.
As well as that of course we also expect US First Lady Michelle Obama to visit the capital with her daughters, Sasha and Malia, later today while Barack Obama is up the North.
As we said before, the G8 is not an organisation per se, but a grouping which has in recent years sought to forge alliances with other nations particularly emerging economics like India, Brazil and of course, China.
In 2005, British prime minister Tony Blair invited the leaders of the three aforementioned countries along with Mexico and South Africa to the talks, making up the G8+5.
However, talks to integrate these five countries into what would be officially a G13 have hit the buffers with the US and Japan opposed to enlargement. For a consensus forming body there is not much consensus on this particular issue.
Then of course there is the G20, the grouping of the world's major economic powers, who are primarily concerned with economic matters and hold bi-annual summits with the next one scheduled to take place in Russia in September.
It's been said in recent years that the G8's relevance has been usurped by the inclusive and, when combined, the more powerful G20 (which itself includes all the G8 nations) but there's no doubting the importance of the next few days which is why the eyes of the world will be on Lough Erne.
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Is anyone starting to feel that the media , RTE in particular is just an extension of government policy. A mouthpiece if you will.
Absolutely John. Have you listened to Joe Duffy lately? To hear him talk about how there’s no way of avoiding the property tax would make you sick. I honestly think that a coordinated boycott of RTE is justified. The protests that are taking place every day don’t get any coverage by this channel. State broadcaster is dead right.
Was thinking the same, something not right with the news feed they put out.
In the Phoenix magazine they are saying that Dennis O has instructed print and media to keep the government stories light and soft ball
And that’s inline with FG who frequently have their supporters bombard chat shows on radio and I’m sure they have hacks on here. They rant about SF, you’ll know them when you see them.
Hi John, I’m glad people are starting to notice this. I thought I was paranoid.
RTE is nothing short of government propaganda. I turn it off whenever I hear it. Joe Duffy is a prime example, it’s pathetic.
BOYCOTT THE CRAP.
Adebayo
Correct, RTE didn’t even report on the protest at Leinster house the other day & comments were not allowed on it here either.
I call it state radio we are more like the old Russia every day, And the real sting is you pay a fee for rte/fox news every year.
By protest do you mean that poor fella who doused himself in petrol? He must have been out of his mind.
RE RTE then they say we have to pay a “broadcast charge” to subsidise the sh*te they spout even if we aren’t consuming the sh*tr they spout! Absolute joke! Cut rte loose but put legislation there to keep it independant of big media. Surely through the arts council and grants etc the government cud aid in the production of public service broadcasting without the need to own 2 tv stations and whatever radio stations! That way the quality of tv abd radio across all platforms in ireland wud improve as they wud be partnering with tv3(usually pure tripe) and tg4(surprisingly high quality as is) as well as other radio stations and perhaps web services. Anyway, sorry kinda hijacked the thread!
Frank – We closed comments because speculation as to the guy’s motives or problems is not helpful in trying to make sure he gets whatever assistance he needs. No need for conspiracy theories.
I have been saying it for years John.
Just this week they failed to report a number of protests around the country and ones outside the Dail.
They totally avoid when they can, mentioning Ben Gilroy of the Direct Democracy Ireland Party who is also standing for election.
A LOT of their much high paid ‘stars’ who do interviews at primetimes, are either connected to FF or FG also – and give government ministers continuously, an easy ride in questions, often letting them off the hook with questions that need to be asked or on answers that should be followed up on.
RTE is an absolute disgrace.
Whats more, you and I are now and will be in the future with the new “Media charge” be forced to pay for it – a service that many DO NOT want – yet because the government wants their mouthpiece funded, they are taking 80%+ of licence money and just giving it to them – and this is on top of private revenue that they pull in from private advertising and product placements also!
RTE is a national disgrace.
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3944/88246652632832075283596.jpg
Listened to Duffy yesterday and he certainly sounded like Vradkar in disguise, there was zero balance in his show, sounded like he couldn’t understand the plight people are in. In fact what the hell was I doing listening to the useless feck, embarrassed that I admitted to it.
Thanks Gavan, no conspiracy here. I would be interested in why he threatened to do it outside Leinster house though. The Tibetans are well documented here when it happens.
Liveline is a listener driven programme. Issues that concern listeners most, dictate the programme’s content. Joe Duffy has a legal obligation to maintain a balanced view in any issue discussed. These types of programme are notorious for attracting libel action, complaints to the BCC and are subject to severe legal constraints. That’s why he may sometimes come across as pro government.
Most people find it hard to stomach the huge salaries being paid to RTE’s headliners particularly in the current economic climate but most are freelancers and negotiate their own contracts. If I go for a job and demand a salary of €200,000 with benefits and my boss agrees to pay it, that’s not my fault! I want the best package I can negotiate for myself. I’m hardly going to say “Ah sure times are hard, give me the minimum wage, an extended lunch and I’ll be grand.” Just like everyone else in this country, these people have a right to earn a living and provide for their families. The reason they’re paid such high salaries is simply because, rightly or wrongly, RTE agreed to.
Martin that’s fine but where is joes anger at the unfairness in society. I want the presenter paid huge money from licences to rip the arse if a minister who advocates greedy policies that rip off the poor not just say” ah well that’s the law” if the law is an ass lets call it what it is FFS enough is enough. Where is RTE s moral compass pointing and their tv is mostly crap anyway, Brendan o Connor FFS aaassshhhhhhhrggggggghhj
Frank very scary that the goverment has this power we are starting to look like we belong in the African league of nations ,people did you see lagarde on the state media machine RTE NEWS telling us that austerity is working and keep up the good work at paying your banking masters money you do not even owe ,and then we saw i think it was MALI and the poor aficans and how the are trying to rebuild their country after a war and this to make us feel better about the situation we find ourselves in ,talk about utter propaganda.
My slant on it folks is that it’s very important to watch R.T.E. …….. It let’s you know what they think works for the general populace…then watch Euronews and see what they are not telling you ! ….R.T.E. are, as far as I’m concerned is “selling” African Aid and Syrian war for some reasons while neglecting EUROPEAN issues such as the COLLAPSE of the BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT because of austerity and the EVICTIONS OF 350,000 SPANISH people from their homes …stuff like that and then perhaps the most amazing thing of all they never show what the weather is like in Russia on the world weather report – which is a shame cos I really want to know how Conor Lenihan is getting on over there in his new job for a Russian Oil oligarch ….ahhhhh R.T.E. !-well worth the price of the licence I think!
Are people only realising this now ! Was always the case !! Only way to shake up the RTE shower would be a massive cut to their salaries … Which we pay through TV licence payments !!
And therefore the solution is ……
I noticed this during the first lisbon treaty that RTE newstalk and all the print media, were blatantly pushing the government side. 100% of the presenters on newstalk advocated a yes vote when 52% of the population were against it. But I am sick of RTE yesterday they had the head of revenue on sixone and it seemed like a How to pay advertisment , and no question on the deferment and how you would end up paying 4% extra at the end of every period so that the deferment could acrue for decades if the people don’t gain employment and the government could end up owning your house. We are being managed
as a people by our betters How long before Vincent Brown is pulled off the air I wonder.
Higgins….Get back into your hole ye clown, or is it Enda’s hole.
No Higgins they don’t but they are obliged to give Government special treatment after all it is our useless government that decides how much of OUR money RTE gets and they get a hell of a lot of it!
We pay we should decide!
#boycott
Is that the best you can do David ‘what a typical Fine Gael comment’ anyone who are against what your crowd are at must be far left ‘ you are a joke’, I doubt if there is one far left person on this site, I used to be Fine Gael voter but NEVER AGAIN. It must be annoying that so many people see through your partys autocratic leanings.
RTE is nothing more than a corrupt government’s PR machine. Fact!
am reading this comment over a year later, it’s now November 2014 and your comment is like a prediction or psychic as all of us now know for sure that ALL the mainstream media in Ireland is government controlled
One rule for the little people, another for our lords and masters. Piggies at the trough.
Christ, how much more crap are we going to take before we take to the streets! Their laughing at us! Couldn’t give two F’s about us!!!!! As long as they get there blood money, the rest of us can rot!!!!!
I’m starting to think people are getting very angry. About bloody time.
Saying that the damage and cuts are nearly finished so FG will do some tokenism turn around and some sheep and the media will say “oh how great they are”.
John, problem is the people maybe angry but all that happens is talk, no action. When elections comes around they vote for the same again and start the whole complaining no action cycle again.
We let this happen… And the media.
Don’t think so John…not this time. They and FF have buried this country in debt for the next 70 to 100 years and people have finally come out of their stupor regarding politicians. People would have forgiven them if we hadn’t been hit so hard both financially and socially but they spoilt the party for themselves by becoming indistinguishable and practically morphing into one entity. They should be deeply ashamed of what they have visited on this country and the utter lack of respect they have shown us and the cravenly way they have represented us in Europe.
#IrelandSaysNo #16M http://www.facebook.com/events/348952171890381/
Bloody hell. It’s like being on winning streak. They’re only short of getting a couple of cars and a holiday thrown in!
Ministerial cars, chauffeur and junkets……Yep they’re there
Absolute disgrace ! They get huge pensions for doing the exact opposite of what they were voted into office for !
Under current financial conditions and the plight of others this is an obscenity. It only goes to show what contempt they hold for the average person because not one of them will say no thanks we don’t deserve it.
See they make the rules of the game, and obviously they make those rules to benefit themselves most. This is not about serving the country, nation or any of that boll** this is about themselves and their entitlements, Anyone who agrees with them just wants a piece of the action, a slice of the pie.
Is it the norm in any other industry in this country for someone to get a massive pension after 2 years work…until they die. Anyone who doesn’t have a problem with this is a bloody idiot.
They may be entitled to receive these pensions yet not one of them deserve them, in any other job they would be fired for how poorly they have done so far.
Perhaps like the new rules for bankers, there should be clawback for a job poorly done. What do you think Bertie?
@ Liam….they’d only be fired if they worked in the private sector. You know public servants dont get fired.
B*stards
I should have 5 pensions already so! And I’m only 35! The government talks about cut backs, cut this 2 year pension crap back! Where else would you get a pension after 2 years work! Most companies would sack your sorry arse so they don’t have to pay you redundancy!!
Don’t have a problem with them getting a pension, do have a problem with the timeframe in which they can ‘earn’ some remuneration for life. That’s the rub. Also, they should be made wait until they are 68 (like everyone now) to claim these pensions instead of receiving them straight away. Another injustice IMHO.
At last some good news… They’re all fab. If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t know how lucky we are and how easy it is to pay the property tax oh and how we should all just get on with things. They deserve it you know. I mean come on, Inda even had a five point plan. That’s A plan with FIVE points. You have to admit a fella with a plan containing five points must deserve a taoiseachs pension after two years. Varadkar, the minister for offering opinions on other ministers business also deserves his pension cos he’s hanging in there. Minister for nest feathering James Reilly deserves his for having the neck to just not care what the public thinks of his stroke politics and hanging on in there. Minister of I know better than everyone else Michael Noonan just knows better than everyone else and deserves his for bothering to tell us what’s happening with the country’s finances every now and then. Minister Joan Brutal deserves her for protecting … Em protecting em she just deserves it because she’s in labour and they are normal like us…. It’s a pity that they have to wait til they retire to get their pension :( oh hang on they don’t….
“Varadkar, the minister for offering opinions on other ministers business” … ha ha ha epic
Headline should read – 2 years of ineptitude & stratospheric U turns on every election promise delivers gold for privileged minority.
A scandalous disgrace when you consider the crap pensions Joe Public get and the years they have to work for them.
Choo choo…. The gravy train will be leaving kildare street station at 12pm…. All aboard
my husband is in the same job for 6 years. Plans afoot to make everyone redundant. 2 weeks pay per year of service and an extra week to send him on his way! 15k doesn’t come close . We aren’t the first and won’t be the last.
Criminal !
There should be no civil servants working in this country earning a salary of over €100k and certainly no retired civil servants with over €100k pensions.
Also they shouldn’t receive these pensions until they same age as us joe soaps receive the state pension.
Why are they called CIVIL servants. I listened to that female talking to Pat Kenny saying how there was no way to escape her claws with regard to the Property Tax. She didn’t sound very CIVIL to me.
@ Rodrigo
Have you not heard about state cars and Paddy’s day junkets?
That’s wrong on so many levels. How can this be justified and how can we afford this as a country?
We can’t. We are borrowing to pay this. Hence the reason for home owner tax etc.
It’s a farce.
Where do I sign up to one of those jobs.
Cathal if any of your family are sitting TD’s you’re guaranteed a seat in the Dail or Senate.
Yes, my life will be complete then.
Ignore david he’s one of them…. he’ll be hoping for one of these pensions some day.
In all honesty david to you think its right to get a 15k pension after 2yrs in a job.
Wankstains the whole lot of them…
Considering the fact that only half of Irish people have no pension plan in place and a 45 year old would have to save €285 pm to age 68 to receive a pension of €8000 (to top up the State pension) http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0925/1224324354636.html this is just another kick in the groin to the Irish people. Kenny can also claim the old age pension so at age 65 he will be coming out with €49,000 before tax. Meanwhile half of his fellow pensioners will be on €12,000 after 40 work, assuming that the even were able to get a job in the first place.
In Spain, Portugal and Greece they go mental on the streets. In Ireland we vote in the same shower of shites because we basically have no alternative. I don’t vote along party lines and try to pick the best person for the job, yet the majority of people vote along party lines like sheep. What’s the alternative? God only knows because I don’t. There are times when I feel like like exploding and storming into my local TD’s office down the road from me but what good would that do?
Next election there is a big X going on my paper to tell the whole lot of them that none of them are fit for purpose.
I agree I’m going to spoil my vote. System needs drastic change.
If they got 200k spoilt votes somebody might notice we think they are cowboys
How about no one voting at all?
I agree Tom. the problem is that the party faithful will still go out and vote so even if 95% of the electorate stayed away we would still have a Government. The politicians have been very cute in dividing the public into a “them and us” situation where everyone is scrabbling to protect their own interests and sod everyone else. If people spend all their time thinking of their own day to day worries then they won’t have time to think about how to change things.
We could march but who would listen? To be honest if I was a TD in the Dail and 100,000 were marching down O’Connell St I wouldn’t give a shit. Let them march all they want, I’d trundle out the usual cliches and platitudes and then head off for a few drinks in the Dail bar. Hand in all the letters they want, wave all the placards they want, even throw the odd egg or two (” this attack is an affront to democracy”) would I care? Not a hope! A few years in the Dail and I’m out with a lump sum and a pension for life, sorted!
Spot on Brian.
They set a target for Themselves in the first two years of exiting the bailout, currently clapping themselves for a great job done.
They are now setting Themselves a new target, distressed mortgages.
Isn’t that a great job, allowing yourself to demote things like unemployment and poverty and crime to secondary status.
These issues are much more important to the vast majority of citizens but they pay lip service to finding solutions.
They will get their pot of gold because they are unaccountable between elections and this lot will be just like the last lot and dozens of them will retire with the loot.
A Republic that has failed spectacularly.
A disgrace of a place.
You know what The problem in this country is that -
There is no leader of the Common People – no one to stand behind – politicians are all held in contempt-and rightly so- but there is no leader no charismatic person to stand behind to join up the ordinary people until that person comes Ireland will not change
It’s like waiting for the second coming- who is this person don’t know- union leader , buisness man, ordinary person thrust forward – until that person comes forward there will be no change- the new Michael Collins of Ireland come forward – please
Djah think Bono might take the gig? Man of the people an all that.
So how exactly would the public go about changing these entitlements? Let me guess you need to become a TD? Vote for me and I promise to nah just kidding im off to Miami for Paddys weekend.
They are like thieves in the night, hit us when we are at our most weakness they have no morals. to hell with the lot of them hope fully
If we get angry Europe won’t think we are such good subjects anymore. The headmaster wants the inspectors to tell him he is doing a great job regardless of how we are actually doing! Feels like school again …
Can’t wait to see noonan looking like the pig from animal farm and grunting as he tells us that “we have no money”
And the rest of the paracitical leeches sneering at us as kennys 5 point plan turns into a 5 point pension.
Well there you have it people,bring your kids up to be liars,cheats,greedy pigs and show them how to have no regard for anybody.
They will get on grand.
*Insert standard “they’re only in it for the money” comment*
Bollocks… 2 years to get a pension for life…. It will take me 40 years to be eligible for a pension worth half of that!
Well they are not doing much else.
I have no problem paying them a good pension, the labourer is worthy of his wage, but they should have no entitlement before age 68 like the rest of us citizens. They appear to consider themselves some kind of aristocratic class who deserve more than the rest if us.
Oh sorry, I forgot, I believe the correct term is “ENTITLED to more than the rest of us”.
Thing is David they are. Probably the same reason you’re in it. Self serving sc*m one and all.
@ David Higgins, While i do feel most are only in it for the money, i get the impression Enda Kenny has his on agenda. He wants to go down in the history books as the Taoiseach that exited the bail out, and will do this at any cost and i mean any cost.
Ah David good to see FG have moulded you into the typical FG entitlement mentality, d**kh**d!
David you are 21 years old and if you were elected tomorrow and served as a Minister for 3 years how could you justify getting €15,000 per year for the rest of your life on top of what ever else you earn? Add to that you 3 years TD pension of about €18,000 and you will be taking home €23,000 a year without having to lift a finger.
Name another profession David where you get such pension entitlements? Insert whatever comment you like but as you say..they’re in it for the money son!
David i really believe your a brain washed little moron . Wake up and smell the coffee .
Are those figures not missing another zero?
“Time for another mass” :)
Did I read this right kenny is to resign………………………. Wishfull thinking
Come on now, be reasonable. 2 years work for a massive pension is reasonable.
The Ministers have a stressful job to do presiding over the impending mass repossessions and having to stick the boot in for the Troika.
Now that they have clocked up the entitlement to pensions, they have to make sure that the property tax and austerity measures ensures that there is enough money available to pay their munificent pensions.
The Bankers are coming back again shortly to feed off us for a second time.
Blood sucking leeches are mild by comparison.
It must feel like they win the lotto once a year for the rest of their lives . Happy Minister Day !!!!
Gilmore said put on the green jersey he did not say he was putting on the one that was full of Euros the swine hund
Disgusting… And then they don’t even want to pay the frontliners a decent wage for the difficult jobs they do… The hypocricy of it all, it can’t get any more corrupt.
Maybe someone can answer me this question.. When you have more than one state pension, do you draw down the full amount on all of these pensions or is there an abatement on the smaller of the pensions. Genuine question and the answer is important.
AFAIK you draw all of the. So for the likes of Enda Kenny you get your teachers pension, your TD’s pension and your Ministerial pension. That’s not including the pay offs you get in lump sums when you retire/lose your seat.
Are you 100% sure mate? not doubting you but may I ask your reference, thanks in advance.
Dave there was a piece in the Journal http://www.thejournal.ie/kenny-says-he-will-defer-e100k-pension-lump-sum-until-he-leaves-politics-87736-Feb2011/ in February so that is what I am going by. I assume that the same applies for all other TD’s.
We as a nation will never ever mass protest at government. Unlike the Greeks and Spanish the average joe here is scared shitless of the government.
It was at this point in the last gov. That the greens and ff started swapping jobs so more of them would become eligible for big pensions. Lets see how many chairs are swapped in this gov in the coming weeks.
Interested to know what people think their public representative is worth in terms of ‘looking after’ them. I recognise the need for a government but have never asked my TD to do anything for me and then……what about the value of our European MPs? How many people know who their European elected representative is?!
I wonder if our EU/IMF overlords approved this??
Feudal system alive and well in Ireland.
I ve worked for the last 28 years and if i retired tomorrow id be lucky enough to be entitled to a 2500 euro a year pension, just another 17 years to go….its great isnt it….and yes RTE are an extension of the govt.
It’s a disgrace that they can recieve a full pension for only two years of ineptitude.
Farcical! A two bit, banana republic with a population of 4.5m. What’s the population of London, Birmingham, Greater Manchester………………
“Mission accomplished lads! ….now what were we supposed to be doing?”
I would imagine that our Government is delighted with its people. We don’t take to the streets. Instead most suffer in silence while the rest moan to radio shows etc. someone said to me “what’s the point! Protesting won’t change anything”. I told him, that’s what they want, everyone to be compliant and servile just like you….. We are playing right into their hands.
Everyone keeps saying that the people should take to the streets and protest about the actions of the government… Really will it change anything? If they wont adhere to the results of democratic votes by the people will they really listen to thousands of people marching through the rain protesting? Will it really change what they are doing to the irish people? And when the next election comes will voting any other party change things? They’re all as bad as each other…. NO govt minister should be paid more than 50k a year unless they are bringing real results to the table, and by that i mean results for the people, not european banks, committees or whoever else the govt are out to please. Am losing faith that there will ever be an end to the misery thats being inflicted on the irish people in recent times…
goverment hack on here .
Eh dermot… By your comment you mean ?????? I expressed disillusionment and genuine despair as to how things will ever be different even after protests given that the people dont seem to matter to them any more. Qualifying for large pensions and salaries and the rest of the rewards they keep giving themselves while people like myself lose our homes, cant pay bills etc is a moral disgrace, but really what alternative is there to improve and rectify the situation? Please give constructive comments rather than general ‘government hack’ statements which really just show ignorance towards others.
Rosie got this one wrong sorry cannot be right all the time.
Opinion poll
Do you think the government are deserved of a pension…..not entitled to….deserved?
im starting to think fair play to them. infact if I was in charge id up the amount received.. it’s not like the nation of Irish sheep we’re all part of will do anything….. they’re laughing their holes off at us everyday
for all the redthumbs….. baaaaa baaaaa baaaaa baaaaa :-)
Just say you start off working for the Government as a school teacher you then get into politics and get elected a TD and eventually bag a job as a minister and after a period of 2/5 years you will be entitled for a pension for life.
Now take a normal public/private sector worker who starts off at the bottom and works his/her way to the top working for the same employer, They don’t get a separate pension for each job/title they held during their working career and they DONT get a pension for life after a few years in a job.
What makes these shower of f**ks any different to the ordinary worker who pays into a pension scheme till they retire, They go on about serving the public bla bla and the hard job they have what a load of nonsense.
Myself like many who have private pensions have seen the funds been decimated, And yet that rotund horrible little man noonan decided to raid what is left of peoples pensions for the job bridge scam.
And remember it was FF&hannifan who upped the retirement age to 68 before f**king off with there pensions aged just over 50.
The likes of inda and co are institutionalised they don’t know what it is like in the real world to actually work and balance the books regarding mortgage payments car tax kids clothing etc.
And that’s all their there for
I have no problem with the concept of a pension based on years served. But calculate TD pensions in the same way as it is for general population ! EG calculate like a teaching pension …one over eighty of salary per year served !
THERE’S ONE ISSUE WITH REGARD TO ALL POLITICAL PENSIONS AND THAT IS THAT THEY ARE, AND THEY WON’T TELL YOU THIS AT SCHOOL FOLKS, SUBJECT TO ARTICLE 9.3 OF THE IRISH CONSTITUTION! ………. It’s a humdinger – legally speaking of course !
Three days general strike is the only way to stop Kenny and Gilmore. Meet at Garden of remembrance Monday 16th March.
So much for reform we cant afford to feed our children and yet they are entitled to this kind of money…tis a digrace and should be reformed
Terrible considering ordinary civil servants have to work 40 years to get a pension, unless they leave due to illness.
Sure that’s it lads take what you want give nothing back!
George Orwell – Animal Farm
Well earned pensions.
Not. Pigs in power cutting the lowest earners to feed their fat salaries and pensions.
have your say