Jack Chambers, Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs and Sport; Sinn Féin TD Padraig Mac Lochlainn
This morning/afternoon.
Via Irish Times:
The Cabinet has approved an increased allowance for the party whips including an increase from €10,000 to €19,000 for the Sinn Féin whip Pádraig Mac Lochlainn. Sources confirmed that the assistant Sinn Féin whip will receive an increase from €5,000 to €9,500.
The Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil whips will receive €10,000 while the Green Party, Solidarity, Labour and Social Democrats whips will receive a €6,000 allowance.
Sources have also confirmed that a new system of extra payments for the three “super junior” ministers sitting at the Cabinet table will commence on Tuesday. They will share €32,000 worth of allowances between them – rather than getting a €16,000 allowance each.
[Jack Chambers, Hildegarde Naughton and Pippa Hackett have ‘waived’ this increased allowance, according to a Government spokesperson]
Cabinet approves plans to increase pay for judiciary (Irish Times)
Meanwhile…
On the day that government announces pay increases for Junior Ministers and judges @fiannafailparty @FineGael @greenparty_ie still refuse to #PayStudentNursesandMidwives
— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) December 8, 2020
Whip it back so.
I’m no fan of Sinn Fein but jaysus talk about an own goal. Cretinous timing, woeful optics, profoundly wrong.
Says the cabinet approved it though?
will Sinn Fein let him keep the extra yoyos?
Come on Goo, get in here.
haha
Lol. I think we will allow the Goomeister have a total rage about this one. But I fear Goo might combust at this one .
Read on. Ha haaaa.
Plenty of space living in yer heads …. ha haaaa.
Looks like the people who are ‘’worth it’ are allocated the higher amounts. ROFL.
Super Duper Miniatures hangers-on get a rise too I see.
But you missed the part about student nurses and midwives. Funny that.
Not possible to defend this one. Tone deaf. Now is not the time for headlines like this given the year some folks have had.
No. The super-juniors don’t get a rise, two take a cut, and the other gets their cuts.
Rather than 2 juniors @ 16K = 32K total;
there will be 3 juniors @ 10.xK = 32K total.
The only people offered more money are ALL the party whips.
Terrible time to do this whip thing, stupid stupid timing.
Are these increases that are always coming out part of some automatic contract that ticks over when a certain date is hit? Its beggars belief that any party would have to gall to be going through with asking for these increases but they always seem to be coming out for someone or other…
No mention of the SF whip increases at all in her tweet? Colour me shocked!
let’s colour you misguided instead. MacLochlainn has said SF will not be taking any pay increases.
MacLochlainn was live on social media about 2 hours ago saying SF will not be accepting any pay increases.
I stand corrected and well played SF so, showing some integrity along with the others who refused it earlier.
Colour you un-shocked. Not so bad, it only lasted 7 minutes, no one probably noticed.
Colour me red with the embarrassment, wha?
Commie!
SF were happy enough to continue collecting pay PLUS travel expenses to travel back & forth to Stormont during the 3 years that the NI Assembly was suspended, so don’t go too mad on the platitudes.
yea but they didn’t lie about their expense claims. unlike your lot.
Who needs to lie, when you can get away with shifting €40k in toner ink?
hm, you picked out a faulty one to snipe about there ‘cos FFG and many of the so called Indos aren’t exactly covered in glory
the whole expenses show is a show at our expense and imho needs a major overhaul
“unvouched expenses” like seriously, gimme a break!
I think I remember the argument against a vouched expenses system being that it would cost as much in staff expenses to manage it, as it would gain in savings from invalid claims. In that case, employ people the run the system and stop TDs from fleecing the taxpayer.
And raise the prices in the Dáil bar while ye’re at it!
Who ever made that arguement Toe
Needs to be named and shamed
There are a number of ways to manage a vouched expenses system
None of which require any high skills or professional grade staff
Basic clerical staff, or trainee accounting technicians
It’s effectively a third party confirmation – flicking through bits of paper and stapling them onto the top sheet, before some data entry
Just one idea for the Oireachtas expenses scheme
Is that they go through their respective party whips offices to be signed off with a second Signiture
Just like in the private sector – to your line manager
Claims with receipts
Whereas Milage has always been : dates, to from, Kms e/w, engine size,
Tolls are receipted, and fines are forbidden btw
Then to the Ceann Comhairle’s, for a third Signiture, or just an official stamp with a date, and on to Finance – the One Stop Shop I think they call it
It beggars belief that flat rate expenses are still permitted, not just here, but in the EU
And not just by Revenue and their counterparts throughout Europe
But by any attempt at Probity in Politics, or hat tip to Ethical Standards
Why the :::k would any one of them attempt to claim a reimbursable expense without documented receipted or vouched proof to back them up?
More importantly, why don’t their Parties via the Whip demand it?
You want to be all about transparency and accountability? Then let’s have ye
Note to all TDs and Senators
If the activity didn’t happen ( looking at FG ex Dara Murphy)
Then the claim is ABSOLUTELY a breech of any ethical policy
Even FF and FGs, if they have any
Just because you are entitled to it – on paper with the job you are engaged to perform
Does not mean it is an automatic expense claim
It most definitely is not if the cost driving activity was not performed
And that is the point, the cost driving activity was not performed, therefore the expense claim(s) were fraudulent
Flat rate expenses, without third party receipts and other standard accepted vouching, are untaxed income
Basically, lads are getting a cash top up every month
Suckers!
@V for once we agree!
TDs and Senators should only get receipted expenses.
I imagine we agree on a lot of things C!an
Particularly on Citizenship and the State apparatus, like if you don’t like it put yourself forward and help change not stuff
Maybe a bit in Transparency too
I think you’re probably there on the principal of unadulterated Equality
But you’ll never be Independent
Like me
You will always have influence present
And all your out put will come with a presentation bias
A virtual party whip loyalist I suppose
Btw. Some of my best pals are party diehards
@V
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Regarding disclosure: I’m not and have never been a member of a political party, or worked with, for, on on behalf a political party in any capacity.
I am totally independent. Any views expressed are mine alone. I post facts that both support and, sometime, oppose my personal views.
Doesn’t matter C!an
Sorry
But I do respect your genuine courtesy here
and your manners, and your ability to keep things business like
Unfortunately, the doubt is there
which rightly or wrongly, fair or unfair
does allow me treat it as a risk
apologies, V
Robbie G living in the SF past. Ha haaaa. Not much going on in the Rob_G head. LOL
A Sinn Féin senator resigned just last week for taking grant money she was not entitled to…
SF also collect their MP allowances even though the won’t do the job.