Enda Kenny’s pay cut.
Read more about: Economy 
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has announced he is taking a 5% pay cut next year, as a symbolic gesture.
He was speaking at the launch of Fine Gael’s Budget proposals, which include 5,000 voluntary redundancies in the civil service.
The party is also suggesting a freeze on pay rises and increments for those in the public sector earning more than €50,000 a year.
Now a TD’s salary is about €96,650 so with his 5% pay cut he is going to now earn €91,817. Well whoopyty do Mr Kenny. What a sacrifice. In 1997 you earned €44,067 so you are still on over double that. A Westminster MP earns €77,405. So to tell you the truth if this is supposed to impress me or make me think that you are more on the side of the people who are struggling now it doesn’t. Joe Higgins did and I believe the Sinn Fein TD’s still do earn the average industrial wage of around €33,000 that I can respect.
Earning €91,817 is not symbolic of the failing economy it is a symbol of the high salaried people who got us into this mess.
Pure bull PR stunt. Take a 66% pay cut then we can take about symbolic gestures. Because this is shambolic. (Like the word play 
)
Simon, I thought you knew better than to fall for that average industry wage nonsense from SF and Joe. All of them earn the same salary as other TDs and MEPs, some of that salary they may choose to give after tax to various party causes less expenses like clothing etc that increase and support their chances of re-election. So for example someone like Joe Higgins might buy a couple of suits per year and he puts that down as outside what he takes home, it sounds nice but it doesn’t affect his bottom line. No one has seen the detail of how SF and the SP work out this average industry wage in real terms and frankly it’s for show. If Mary Lou McDonald was giving the difference between her salary as MEP to SF then she would be in breach of the SIPO legislation and it would also have to be declared in the SF submission to SIPO. Can someone link to where she does this?
Enda’s action is a gesture, he said as much. It’s a move in the right direction. I note that instead of saying ‘hey a good idea but you should/could go further’ you simply carp and make comparison with people who can’t prove and have never offered proof that they are doing what they claim.
I think Kenny’s move could be admired if he wasnt on Today FM two days ago saying that the suggestion by a Green TD that TD’s should get an 8% cut in pay was just populist nonsense…hmmm why has he changed his mind!!
“Enda’s action is a gesture, he said as much.”
Ya he also said a cut of 8% was populist nonsense 2 days ago.
What is needed is a complete overhaul of Government representation.
A reduction to 1 TD per 100,000 of population – eg. c.45/46 would make more sense and the cost savings would be around €1.1 million. Add an equal amount for expenses and office overhead, PR; haircuts etc., and the savings might be €3 million ++ – per annum!
Reduce the Cabinet to six persons (Finance: Natural Resources: Justice: Human Resources: Communications & External Affairs) and you would have a manageable Administration, unshackled by local issues & the need for “Bungs”.
Introduce a Distributed Profits Tax (DPT) of, say, 60+%, and companies would have to deduct DPT on Directors’ bonuses; share options; Benefits-In-Kind; swaps; share buy backs; payouts on Voluntary Liquidations etc…
This would effectively deal with the concerns – of the Left – that Banks would misappropriate the Government bail-out.
Which they probably would attempt, if allowed unfettered access.
A dissolution of the myriad trade unions and the creation of two master units – one for manual workers and one for all others – both under the jurisdiction of the Labour Court, whose decisions, following disputes, would be appellate, would solve the perpetual sequence of interruptions to trade.
Existing Union funds would be sequestered and placed with the Central Bank – for the benefit of the Members (not Begg; O’Connor et al) by way of subventions; health assistance etc. in the event of distress.
Tax on private property should be based on the surplus, on disposal, being the difference between the price achieved and the Insured Value for Reinstatement (the real value). Fallow Land and empty housing should be taxed, in similar fashion, until brought into beneficial usage.
Excise duties on Motor Fuels, used for Industry, should be reduced to a nominal sum.
Duties on all other fuels should be increased, and the yield applied to the creation of an extensive public transport network; school buses etc.
All fuels, other than those used in essential industries, should be rationed. This should, effectively, deal with the current daily gridlock and reduce the enormous cost of road maintenance.
To prevent smuggling, a joint force of PSNI and Gardai should be set up to monitor fuel movements in the Border areas.
The Defence Forces should be merged with the Gardai, under the direction of the Minister of Justice. The Defence Force Units should be deployed as foot patrols on the streets.
Tax exiles should have their Irish assets subjected to DPT in the same manner as Companies.
The existing tax arrangements in the Financial Services Centre should be reviewed to ensure that there be no “back door” distributions (through service companies).
A graded Consumption Tax (CT) system should be considered to replace PAYE & VAT and only PRSI to be used as direct taxation – to fund Health & Welfare.
Cabinet Ministers would be required to work a full year and to vacate their constituency work, in order to concentrate on managing the country – Efficiently.
Leinster House might be converted into that Conference Centre that has so engaged the minds of the planners.
Dail Eireann could be relocated in a smaller unit, to reflect the reduction in the number of TD’s.
Video conferencing should be considered for TDs, who should remain in their constituencies to deal with local issues, as Cabinet Ministers manage national issues.
Let me know what you think.
Ireland needs help from wherever it can get it – not just carping about social issues.
Enda Kenny has a nerve. While his current remuneration package (excluding expenses) is of the order of €160,000 (he receives a leader’s allowance as well as his basic TD’s salary), he’s only prepared to take a 5% cut in the basic salary of approx. €100,000 – this equates to an actual cut of approximately 3.3%. At the same time, he is advocating that public servants earning in excess of €50,000, i.e. a third of his salary, should be subjected to a pay freeze. Who does this guy think he is? Does he seriously think that, in this day and age, €50,000 is a high salary? If so, he’s more divorced from reality that he usually appears to be. And as for Enda being a leader – leaders don’t railroad their most experienced (and talented) generals (i.e. Deputy Bruton) into to publicly having to accept a pay cut without having had the courtesy to consult them in advance. That’s not the sort of behaviour that engenders either motivation or loyalty. Mr Kenny is a clown and unfit for the position of Taoiseach.
The point at issue is not gestures from Enda Kenny, whether they be adequate or no.
The issue is that the Government – Fianna Fail – have made neither gesture – nor concrete proposals – to slim down their bloated construct – viz. Dail Eireann and the enormous backroom apparatus that they employ.
Perhaps they see the bloated Public Service “Employment” as a lightly coloured alternative to the dole???
But it sends out the wrong message if they plan to borrow to pay their salaries & several pensions; expenses (€400 haircuts etc); the Gulf Stream & the Mercedez-Benz motors; the overseas junkets and the tent at the Galway races.
Drastic cost-cutting is required. Ahern is gone, so there is no good reason to featherbed the unions or bend the knee to CORI.
There is massive scope – just get on with it & prove that we have competent Ministers in charge – not lunatics.