The Pension Debate, Mary Lou McDonald takes on Brendan Howlin, The Epic Táin Bó Cúailnge

May 15, 2015

An interesting debate took place in the Dail on Tuesday May 12, 2015 on Ministerial Pensions when Mary Lou McDonald, SF asked Brendan Howlin,Labour Party and Minister for Pubic Expenditure and Reform for a list of annual pension payments to former Ministers and taoisigh including the recipient's name.

The Pension Debate

Like the epic battle in An Tain Bó Cúailnge, queen Medb a.k.a 'Mary Lou McDonald' took on Dáire mac Fiachna aka 'Brendan Howlin' to steal Donn Cúailnge, aka 'the prized list'. Minister Howlin had the prized list, and wouldn't let it go easily but Mary Lou wanted it badly.

“Janey Mac. Did the Deputy get lucky with the draw? Minister Howlin directed his first remark to the questioner Deputy McDonald's. “Did the Deputy win the lotto, he asked? He was playing with her. He knew he had the information that the Deputy was looking for. Would he be magnanimous and give it to her?

Deputy McDonald kept her cool, saying she didn't know how he was going to deliver his response but “he might tell us whether he regards the payments as prudent, modest and sustainable”

Minister Howlin, like an ancient lord of Ulster, knew he possessed the full list of names and payments. He also knew that information is power. He wasn't going give it away cheaply. He informed Deputy McDonald that he had a full list she wanted but it was too long to read out.

Deputy McDonald countered “the minister might have time to read ten name or perhaps more”

Minister Howlin reluctantly read out 13 names from the list. Why thirteen, was this an bad omen?

Top 13 Ministerial Pensions for year 2014

The information was a red rag to a bull. Deputy McDonald went on the attack and cornered Minister Howlin. He was on shaky ground. Well who wouldn't be, having to defend the indefensible, especially a labour man in this age of austerity defending some very questionable expenditure?

Donn Cuailnge was out and running loose. The list in the Minister's hand containing huge amounts of euro, would put paid to any reasonable arguments or explanation. Perhaps he knew that. He was on dangerous ground.

Deputy McDonald on her thundering chariot began the attack. She said she was struck by the contrast between the recipients of the payments and “workers within the civil and public service who do not earn a living wage.”

Minister Howlin replied “Obviously there are many in the public sphere in receipt of analogous pensions, including senior judges, senior members of An Garda Síochána, senior administrators in the public service and senior academics.”

If you look up 'analogous' you will find 'comparable' but really having discovered what 'analogous' meant, it still did not explain the Minister's reason why he brought into the fray even more payments and even more senior people.

He lost it, why did he have to mention these other additional pensions? Mentioning more expenditure only added more weight to Deputy McDonald's arguments about state pensions.

By the way how much airgead, euros is the State paying out to former ministers, taoisigh, senior state officials including senior Garda, judges and senior academics etc, etc? That would be some list.

While Deputy McDonald was digging in her heels and getting ready to pounce, Minister Howlin stumbled on “ It is important that pensions comprise an important part of the package available to get people to work in the public service. We will have to start discussing how we can ensure we get quality people to work in the public service because there will be pressures associated with the filling of senior positions when recovery comes and there will be much more lucrative opportunities in the private sphere.”

There is still a little lingering, niggling thought about this so called expertise and it's cost . The Irish state has forked out hundreds of millions in wages, annual pensions to ministers, former ministers, senior judges, senior members of An Garda Síochána, senior administrators in the public service and senior academics etc, etc. All for what?

Deputy McDonald wasn't persuaded by Minister Howlin's arguments. She claimed that despite all the Financial Emergency Measure in the Public Interest, FEMPI, legislation, changes and reforms that the minister introduced, that there is a “central disparity within the system, in which small numbers of people are overpaid and over-pensioned but as one moves down the chain people are on poverty wages, and we talk about the working poor but these are the working poor in the employment of the State - and the failure even to acknowledge that is quite astonishing.”

Ah no Brendan, let it go, let it go. When a person is beaten they innevitably try to laugh it off or blame it someone else. In this case Minister Howlin did both cynically accusing Deputy McDonald of “milking for political gain" and then went on to blamed the Attorney General.

The Minister replied “I know this is an area the Deputy likes to milk for political reasons but, in truth, she knows that with respect to people of legal entitlements to pensions, we have brought in reductions to those pensions in so far as we can go on the advice that we have from the Attorney General.”

Minister Howlin pulled out his only remaining weapon “If we are going to have quality people working in the public sphere, we need to acknowledge that we are going to have to pay a reasonable rate for those jobs.”

His blunted sword did not even dent Deputy Lou McDonald's shield, she had him beat now. She pounced, “At every level”.

Reaching deep into a now far off past, a nostalgia for youthful idealism, the Minister pleaded “ I am the son of a trade unionist and that in no way undermines the absolute case for having a fair rate at the lower end. It is something that I have spent my entire working life working for and my party's focus is to ensure that those who are the weakest are protected and that we support collective bargaining and provide decent wage rates for people who are least paid in society."

Ah, Brendan, you should have just handed over Donn Cúailnge to Deputy Mary Lou McDonald and left it at that .

Former Fianna Fail Taosigh Bertie Ahern and Brien CowenImage: Peter Morrison — Former Fianna Fail Taosigh Bertie Ahern and Brien Cowen
Image: Peter Morrison

Original Article Kildarestreet.com

Full List of Ministerial Pensions for year 2014 Pension € per annum

Political Promises In Spring Statement As Government Allows Super-Rich To Make Huge Gains While It Crucifies The Poor With Austerity And Water Charges

May 12, 2015

Deputy Seamus Healy TD (Tipperary) Speaking in Dáil Tuesday April 28 2015

This Spring Statement is effectively an election manifesto of sorts with the bulk of the promises made to be implemented after the next general election. It is a series of political promises but we know well what happens to political promises. They are made to be broken, according to the former Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, who said that is what politicians do at election time – they make promises they fully intend to break after the election. That is what happened in 2011 and this Government cannot be trusted or believed. What we have heard today in this Spring Statement is effectively pie in the sky.

Seamus Healy Independent TD for Tipperary South

Fine Gael-Labour Party Promises of 2011

Pat Rabbitte that is what politicians do at election time Click Image

It is important to note what this Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition promised in 2011 and what it did with its promises and commitments. We heard a lot about a democratic revolution but we hear very little about it nowadays. Fine Gael told us that it would burn the bondholders and that not another cent would be given to the banks. The Labour Party went even further and said that it would be Labour’s way and not Frankfurt’s way. Its infamous Tesco-style advertisements promised no cuts to child benefit, opposition to domestic water charges and so forth. It contained very specific promises and lines such as “Look what Fine Gael have in store for you” and “Fine Gael – Every Little Hurts”. The Labour Party in government went on to cut child benefit, with a loss of up to €1,500 for many families. A Labour Party Minister is now implementing the introduction of domestic water charges, having gone around north Tipperary in the last election campaign asking people to vote for him to ensure that Fine Gael could not introduce such charges. We were also told that the Labour Party would protect the vulnerable, a point to which I will return later.

**Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin**

This Fine Gael-Labour Party Government continued the austerity of the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and did exactly the opposite to what it had promised. Government policy in the past four years has deliberately increased the income and assets of the super rich in society. It ensured that austerity affected only low and middle income families while there was a recovery for the wealthy and the super rich. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, spoke about sharing the fruits of economic growth. He said that a functioning society is a fair one, where the fruits of economic growth are shared among all of the people, which demonstrates both dishonesty and hypocrisy. We know for a fact, as referred to by other speakers, that very wealthy people have increased their income and assets hugely during the course of this recession. An article in the Sunday Times last weekend pointed out that Ireland’s super wealthy now have a combined wealth that surpasses the heights reached at the peak of the Celtic tiger era. Ireland’s 250 richest people have increased their wealth by more than 15% in the past year to €75 billion, equivalent to 30% of Irish GDP. The number of Irish billionaires has increased from nine last year to 13 this year. There have been huge increases in the financial assets of the super rich as confirmed by the Central Statistics Office. The increase in assets from the time of the bust in 2008 to 2013 was €93 billion or an increase of 51% of GDP and there have been further increases since then. The situation is exactly the same with regard to income.

Wealthiest People In Ireland

A very small proportion of very wealthy people have huge incomes. The 10,000 wealthiest have average incomes of €595,000 per year, a figure supplied to me by the Minister, Deputy Noonan. That wealth situation was confirmed about a month ago by the Sunday Independent rich list of the 300 wealthiest people in Ireland. Those 300 people have €84 billion between them. So the super-rich have done very well out of this recession while ordinary people have paid for it which they had no hand, act or part in creating.

On the other hand, it is instructive to look at what has happened to ordinary low and middle-income families. A recent Central Statistics Office report, the SILC report, shows that 400,000 children are living in households experiencing multiple forms of deprivation, of whom 135,000 are suffering daily material deprivation. The number of children living in consistent poverty has doubled from 6% to almost 12%.

The Labour Party claimed it would protect the vulnerable and particularly social welfare recipients. What is the record of the Labour Party and the Tánaiste in social welfare? She protected the social welfare recipients and low and middle-income families but I am afraid the cuts she introduced in recent budgets have devastated ordinary people and undermined the social welfare system.

It is important to mention some of those cuts, which I call the dirty baker’s dozen cuts: child benefit was cut by up to €1,500 per annum per family; cuts to the back-to-school allowance; cuts to maternity benefit; cuts to the fuel allowance; abolition of the telephone allowance; cuts to the household benefits package; cuts to jobseeker’s allowance; new qualifications for State pensions particularly affecting women who are out of the workforce to rear their families; the carer’s respite grant was cut by €325; farm assist payments cut; back-to-education allowance cut; exceptional needs payment cut; increase in eligibility for State pensions; taxation of maternity benefit; abolition of illness benefit for widows and lone parents who work; huge cuts, of course, to one-parent families with another huge cut coming on 2 July; cuts to rent allowance; and abolition, unbelievably, of the very small bereavement grant.

Michael Noonan FG Minister, Dept of Finance Spring Economic Statement  Click image — Michael Noonan FG Minister, Dept of Finance Spring Economic Statement Click image

The so-called recovery is a recovery for those who are already wealthy and it certainly means continued austerity for low and middle-income families. The public does not trust or believe the Government. They know that what the Government says does not transfer into action. They know that middle and low-income families have been crucified by the Government. They want to see the Government going to the country and calling a general election. The Government has absolutely no mandate for what it has done. The public believe that it simply cannot be trusted. This Spring Statement is simply an election manifesto of sorts, one that the public will not believe and one that should be put to the country sooner rather than later.

This was the week that was in Inishowen's Water Campaign

May 10, 2015

Some of most important water campaign stories that affect Inishowen from Donegal and around the country.

Inishowen Attacked by Thugs

Enda Craig Moville Community Against Meters

There is a rogue team of Irish Water meter installers in Inishowen peninsula and it’s time they were stopped in their tracks. Their ‘modus operandi’ is to ignore all installation agreements.
1. They use an unmarked van – this is not allowed.
2. They do not produce I.D. when requested
3. They invade private property without permission and refuse to leave when requested
4. They have given zero notification of their intention to install water meter installation. By Irish Water’s own agreement ( which was agreed with An Garda Siochana and is written on their web-site ) ALL residents must be given two weeks notice to begin with, followed by a two day notice and then, finally, must knock on your door on the mentioned day to alert you of the imminent water meter installation.
All this is being ignored as they move furtively from estate to estate installing meters without the knowledge of the residents. Worst of all, when challenged they use foul language totally ignoring their own work agreements and trample over the rights of the residents. This has now been well documented by the experience of a local Moville resident and indeed other examples now coming to our notice.
Our group,Moville Community Against Water Meters, has already made Irish Water and An Garda Siochana aware of this abuse and we are now calling on all our elected representatives to come to the aid of their constituents and insist that Irish Water deal immediately with the unlawful and unacceptable behaviour of this team of water meter installers.
See rest of Enda's statement in Craic On

Irish Water Treatment of Woman Appalling in Buncrana Together.

**Return To Sender Click Photo for full story**

Buncrana Man Defies Irish Water

I celebrate James Connolly who died in the 1916 rising by this small act of defiance and I castigate the Irish Labour party for their part in supporting and driving the Water Services legislation through. My act is what James Connolly would have done.

Moville Community will voice concerns Thursday April 14

Moville Community Against Water Meters will help and support residents in a Moville estate to voice their objections to the way they were treated by unknown thugs. This Thursday they will gather in the estate where a spokesperson for the community will read out their statement. Enda Craig said he will invite all elected representatives to come and support the community. He will also invite the media.

Buncrana Together believes that the workmen were working as subcontractors for Irish Water. The reason we say believe is because they did not identify themselves. There was no identification on their vehicle. We also believe that they were GMC Sierra employees.

Public meeting in St Marys Hall Muff tuesday 12th May from 8pm

Water Warriors Donegal and North Donegal Irsp are holding a public non political party meeting and public information night to highlight the ongoing fight against Irish Water and the installation of water meters and to show people the way to beat irish water is by mass nonpayment of the bills.

The meeting will be chaired by Simon McElroy from water warriors and Mark McKinney from IRSP. We invite all the people of the muff area and indeed anyone that wants to learn more about the protest. This meeting is an all inclusive meeting and we invite members from every anti water group in the area. Political groups are also welcome but this is a non party political meeting. We will only talk about the subject in question on the night please.

Irish Water Delivery Service Too Little Too Later

Irish Water are delivering notices using unidentified men who either put a leaflet through your letterbox or fling it on your doorstep. Some do not get a notice at all. There are no names or addresses on the envelope. We believe this was a reaction by Irish Water to our repeated complaints both to them and to Garda Siorhána. it is not good enough.
Click on the photo and at the bottom of article you can read what they should be doing.

The West is Awake

Glenties Resident Stop Irish Water

Water protest at Ard Patrick Estate in Glenties on Tuesday 28th April, 2015 undertaken by 14 members of the public comprising of Right 2 Water, Glenties Sinn Fein Cumman and Donegal Says No members. Water meters were prevented from being installed in houses with no persons present.

Ard Patrick Estate in Glenties on Tuesday 28th April, 2015

Pulling out of Gort Na Seglad

Cllr Mac Giolla Easbuig said that this is another victory in west Donegal this morning again. Well done al. Irish Water are now pulling out of Gort Na Seglad

Cruit Island Another Victory

Protesters, Cruit Island, were delighted by results of their protest. Gllr Mac Giolla Easbuig said "another morning with Irish Water in Cruit Island, west Donegal. It looks like only one or two meters are going to get fitted on the Island.

Residents Right to their property in Glenties stated clearly

In Glenties the rights to private property is questioned by residents. The households firmly state that the water shore or stopcock is their property. They state that as property owner or occupier they do not need to prove if it is private property or not. Irish Water need to prove that it is not as they are the party intending to carry out works. A spokesperson for the group say demand proof of them. Do not let them commence until they show you the maps and all their paperwork and where they got their permissions.

Irish Water being stopped in Glenties Co Donegal. Members of Donegal Water Warriors remove work protective fences because they are on private property

Worked Stopped in Gweedore

Cllr Mac Giolla Easbuig said "We have Irish Water at stop in Gweedore right now. They have being knocking at doors but every one is telling them they don't want a Meter. The foreman has agreed that they won't fit a meter if residents tell them that they don't want one.Keep up the Fight! We are Winning."

Pulling out of Annagry

Irish Government Approves Proposals On Debt Enforcement And Reaction

On Wednesday May 6th 2015 the Irish Government approved a Civil Debt Bill to abolish imprisonment of debtors & implement recommendations of 2010 Law Reform Commission report. This includes Environment Legislation to strengthen regulatory regime around the payment of water charges. The legislative stage could take up to 6 months before this bill goes to Dail for approval. See full article including official statement and opinions Here.

Read this interesting article by Gene Kerrigan in the Sunday Independent Apr 10. Click image.

At work?  On the dole? An employer?  Better call Saul — At work? On the dole? An employer? Better call Saul

Waterford Politicising An Garda Siochána May 7 2015

Video by Noel Mc Lawrence politicising the police

Sligo Protesters Make Enda Kenny unwelcome at Ballymote

Irish Water protesters heckling Enda Kenny at an ceremony in Ballymote Co Sligo ireland when he was unveiling a monument to Irishmen who died in the American civil war.

Fine Gael member provokes crowd in protest at Ballymote where 200 protesters gather to protest at privatisation of water. At 00:15 you can see one of Enda's lackeys pointing an umbrella like a rifle at a member of the congregation in an attempt to provoke crowd.
The protesters showed great respect during the National Anthems & the minutes silence. Enda kenny when he addressed the assembled people in Ballymote that he was "Delighted to be in Ballinrobe" drew some consternation from the crowd. The peaceful protesters were then held back against their will at the behest of Enda Kenny which was a clear attempt at provocation. Sligo News facebook page