Tag Archives: Pay

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This lunchtime.

Outside Government Buildings on Merrion Street Upper.

Members of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors hold a protest over pay.

Dearbhail McDonald tweetz:

‘We need the bibs back, keep the T-shirts for another day,’ says one of the organisers of Garda protest outside the Dáil.

Meanwhile, around the front of the Dáil…

Irish Water protesters demonstrate outside the Dáil on Kildare Street.

Previously: Nothing To Say Here

UPDATE:

Topaz

Down Cash writes:

I visited a Topaz pump last week and used one of their card operated pumps where you pay at the pump rather than in the store.

When doing this you input a value of fuel you want, insert your pin and then pump. The pump cuts off when your car is full as usual, or pumps until the inputted value of fuel is reached. You are then supposed to be charged for the amount you pumped.

(Note: This was my first time filling this car and at the time I did not know fuel capacity or reserve capacity, my bad).

To my surprise when I looked at my account online two days later both the amount initially inputted (€60) and the pumped amount (€50) had been taken from my account.

On visiting the station they informed me this was to stop thieves with nothing in their account filling and running with no money in their account.

Today I received a reply from Topaz after querying this practice:

“As per our conversation I can confirm that Topaz charged your account for only the petrol dispensed i.e. €50, the €60 that was entered at the pump is being held by your bank and was not processed and should show in your account in 2-3 working days.”

(Note: I was told 4.5 working days for return of the money at the station).

In my account the €60 and €50 are gone from the account. At present I have no access to that €60.

I contacted my bank. They informed me that they’ve never heard of this and that they are not holding any money. The bank say all they can see is 2 transactions that are verified by my pin even though I only verified 1 transaction.

I saw no information that I would lose money for a week and was never informed of this important detail. I have rented cars and you are clearly warned about a hold of money on your account when renting the car, for damage etc reasons.

I thought I’d inform people in case they didn’t know, as I did not.

Anyone?

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Lucinda Creighton

Further to Renua leader Lucinda Creighton’s comments this morning…

Graywingfield tweetz:

“Renua Ireland says work must pay, except if you work for Lucinda Creighton.”

From Ms Creighton’s website, posted last Thursday, October 1:

“Are you a bright, motivated and energetic self-starter with an interest in politics and public affairs? I am seeking an intern to work in my office in Leinster House, contributing to parliamentary, constituency and political projects and assisting in the day-to-day running of my office… The position is unpaid and will last for an initial duration of three months, starting immediately.”

Join our team! (Lucinda Creighton)

Previously: ‘There Will Be Incentives For People To Actually Take Pay Rises’

Mark Stedman (Rollingnews.ie)

UPDATE:

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Ken Foxe, for the RTÉ Investigations Unit, has created a database of ministerial pay and expenses from March 2011 until the end of December 2014.

It follows a database that Mr Foxe created in January which outlined TDs and Senators’ pay, allowances and expenses from March 2011 until the end of July 2014.

In his latest investigation, Mr Foxe found that, as a whole, Government ministers have received approximately €27million in pay and expenses since the Fine Gael/Labour coalition was formed in 2011, while the average amount paid to each minister during the period was €631,000.

He also found:

· Almost €1.6 million was paid in mileage on an unvouched basis.

· The mileage bill rose each year since 2011 to €473,000 in 2014.

· An Taoiseach Enda Kenny was paid more than €780,000 in salary, expenses and other costs during the period, and is top of the list.

· Nine other senior politicians were paid or reimbursed in excess of €700,000 (at least €186,666 annually) between the election and the end of 2014. They are in descending order: Simon Coveney, Jimmy Deenihan, Leo Varadkar, Phil Hogan, James Reilly, Michael Noonan, Brendan Howlin, Joan Burton and Eamon Gilmore.

· Costs for a further 16 senior politicians exceeded €600,000 (a minimum €160,000 annually).

· At least one government minister chose not to take part of their salary and this is reflected in the database. Minister Joan Burton did not take the allowance she is entitled to as Tánaiste, which would be approximately €15,000 annually.

· €165,608 paid for ministerial mobiles and broadband while an additional €75,601 was paid for landlines at home or in constituency offices.

View the database here

Ministers paid more than €27 million in pay and expenses (RTE)

Previously: On Your Dime

Thanks Laura Fitzgerald

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Next Sunday, the Swiss (yes, the Swiss) will vote in a referendum on whether to enshrine the 1:12 pay ratio in their constitution. In a move by the Social Democrats and Greens to combat corporate greed and income inequity (the ratio of top to bottom earners in Swiss firms has grown from about 1:6 in 1984, to 1:43 today) the intention of the bill is to:

….limit the pay of top executives to just 12 times that of the lowest-paid employees at the same firm. In other words, prevent CEOs from earning more in one month than the lowliest shop-floor worker earns in a year.

The cartoon promo above features a Swiss nurse who is astounded by the way top manager salaries have grown to “astronomical” proportions, even as hers has barely increased.

*ahem*

Swiss outrage over executive pay sparks a movement in Europe (Reuters)

(Pic: 1:12′ flags adorning various houses in Bern and Zurich in November 2013. REUTERS/Staff)

(H/T: Ron)

Brendan Howlin wanted to pay his own special adviser a salary of more than €133,600 but was advised not to award such a high wage.

[Officials] cautioned the figure of €133,605 “could set an unwelcome precedent for future requests for exceptions” and pointed out Mr Howlin himself had recently argued against allowing the special adviser to Minister for Enterprise Richard Bruton a wage exceeding the limit.

The guidelines stipulated special advisers should usually be paid €80,051, bringing them into line with the first point of the salary scale applying to standard principal officer positions in the Civil Service, although they could be paid up to €92,672 – the highest point on the principal officer scale – if they had been earning more than the minimum previously.

Mr O’Brien’s salary was eventually settled at €114,000, still well above the recommended €92,672 cap.

Officials Cautioned Howlin Not To Pay His Adviser €133,600 (Mary Minihan, Irish Times) 

Ronan O’Brien (LinkedIn)
(Photocall Ireland)