According to breakingnews.ie some of the Dail TD's are still receiving their salaries from when they were teachers "including Minister for Education Mary Hanafin, are also continuing to hold onto their teaching jobs, preventing the posts from being permanently filled."

however there is nothing officially wrong with this but surely because they are allowed "to continue to chalk up pension benefits while they pursue their political careers." the rules must change, is there something ethically wrong with this?

To show that i am not picking on any party Enda Kenny apparently only resigned his post about 18 months ago, but at least he has done the decent thing.

After being in the Dail since the 1970s? You've got some screwed up idea about "doing the decent thing".

Regards...jmcc

The current system is unfair. Maybe also unfair that somebody loses seat and can't get gainful employment in previous profession even though qualfied and experienced.

Forgive me for being cynical, but those tossers have the same chances as others in the job market. Just because they were freeloading in the Dail when others were working hard does not entitle them to a job.

Regards...jmcc

Am I surprised by these allegations?

Not in the least. Grubby, greedy, pathetic people seem to be par for the course in FF.

Hanafin is only doing what FFers have done since their inception. Looking after themself.

Well it's not only government ministers doing it. the current and previous FG leaders have done it....and I agree that 18 months before presenting yourself as a potential Taoiseach smacks of hypocracy....after this "sign the contract, vote Fine Gael" ********************e. Especially as he will be father of the Dáil unless something goes majorly wrong and even the FG leader doesn't get elected!!

I don't agree with any TD doing it, but AFAIK they are requored to pay their replacement's salary from that money.

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Woop Woop

No there isn't , wonder who is responsible for looking after official policy ? :wink:

And when they found themselves lacking in basic morality: well we'd to get the ethics in office act then. Soon to come the "don't sign blank cheques whilst treasurer of a political party" act.

In theory isn't one of the ideas of a second house of parliment that it watches over the other ? In the business world at least an effort is made to have non executive directors: what effort re parliment ?

cYp

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"Yawn , am I alive yet ?"

Is it only FF politicians that are doing this?

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Correct me if I am wrong, but are they not just getting their pension contributions paid for them, rather than a teacher's salary?

My understanding is that they are on a kind of never-ending "unpaid leave", where they get their superannuation contributions paid by the Dept. of Education (and then they pay the teachers share of the superannuation contribution out of their own pocket).

The school then employs a substitute to do the actual teaching. The TD retains the right to go back to that school if they ever lose an election.

A very sweet deal for the TD's but I do not think it costs the state anything really, as the substitute teacher has no right to a pension.

(ie, the pension for the teaching "post" goes to the TD, not the sub-teacher who is actually doing the teaching.)

The only real loser is the poor teacher who is stuck in the never-ending "substitute" job.

Are there really people doing substitute teacher jobs for years who never acquire lots of the normal employment rights of their peers?
Do they have no job security, no rights to redundancy pay or pensions?
Why don't we hear more about the plight of these people?