Martin must call on Cowen and Co to hand back pension

[thetruthsback]

There is now an onus on Michael Martin to call on former colleagues to hand back a portion of the massive pensions Cowen and Co received on their retirement. It is obscene for those who oversaw the reckless management of the economic boom to be rewarded with massive pensions. As a Fianna Fail supporter, I cannot stand idly by and witness those individuals who not alone wrecked our prosperity but also the Fianna Fail organisation being rewarded for their incompetence. If FF is ever to be trusted it must begin with Martin making a statement on the subject

[williewatch]

There is now an onus on Michael Martin to call on former colleagues to hand back a portion of the massive pensions Cowen and Co received on their retirement. It is obscene for those who oversaw the reckless management of the economic boom to be rewarded with massive pensions. As a Fianna Fail supporter, I cannot stand idly by and witness those individuals who not alone wrecked our prosperity but also the Fianna Fail organisation being rewarded for their incompetence. If FF is ever to be trusted it must begin with Martin making a statement on the subject

And Willie O'Dea should hand back his step down money.

FF TDs pocket cabinet pay-offs | Irish Examiner

[meriwether]

Micheal has a chequered history with pensions and severance payments.

Martin plan backfires as he clings to €90,000 deal - Latest News, Elections - Independent.ie

Justifying his then refusal to give up his €90k severance package, he stated he 'had not thought about it'.

There you go folks. Micheal Martin, a man who doesn't give much thought to where his next €90k is coming from.

Like most people I'd wager. Whats a €90k here and a €90k there?

[Bill]

There is now an onus on Michael Martin to call on former colleagues to hand back a portion of the massive pensions Cowen and Co received on their retirement. It is obscene for those who oversaw the reckless management of the economic boom to be rewarded with massive pensions. As a Fianna Fail supporter, I cannot stand idly by and witness those individuals who not alone wrecked our prosperity but also the Fianna Fail organisation being rewarded for their incompetence. If FF is ever to be trusted it must begin with Martin making a statement on the subject

Why bother , they'll just tell him to f**k off.

[Rebel_Yell]

There is now an onus on Michael Martin to call on former colleagues to hand back a portion of the massive pensions Cowen and Co received on their retirement. It is obscene for those who oversaw the reckless management of the economic boom to be rewarded with massive pensions. As a Fianna Fail supporter, I cannot stand idly by and witness those individuals who not alone wrecked our prosperity but also the Fianna Fail organisation being rewarded for their incompetence. If FF is ever to be trusted it must begin with Martin making a statement on the subject

A few issues with that as an idea:

• It would make him look extremely weak when they ignored him. It's a bit like the age old legal maxim, never ask a question to which you do not know the answer. Unless he convinced them to do it before calling on them to do it there would be little value.
• For them to give up their pensions, would require them to concede that they acted knowingly against the public interest as opposed to just making decisions that turned out to be wrong. I seriously doubt that either man would concede this. In Ahern's case, I would doubt that he believes it either.
• It's a lot of dosh to give up. If you were them would you give up your primary income?
• It creates a dangerous precedent. We elect officers to serve on our behalf and to implement a set of policies that they presented to us. The policy platform that FF implemented was fatally flawed but no one can argue that we didn't know they were going to do it. In 1997 yes, 2002 maybe, but 2007 come on. When you hire the dodgy looking dude to do your drive for 500 quid rather than getting a reputable firm in, you don't get to complain when the tarmac comes up in 6 months.

[Bea C]

Bertie forego what he 'earned' ? Is it a bird, is it a plane ? No: it's a pig flying.

[johnnypockets]

There is now an onus on Michael Martin to call on former colleagues to hand back a portion of the massive pensions Cowen and Co received on their retirement. It is obscene for those who oversaw the reckless management of the economic boom to be rewarded with massive pensions. As a Fianna Fail supporter, I cannot stand idly by and witness those individuals who not alone wrecked our prosperity but also the Fianna Fail organisation being rewarded for their incompetence. If FF is ever to be trusted it must begin with Martin making a statement on the subject

I disagree with you on alot, and I really have no time for the FF party at present; but there is some merit in what you are saying. It would go a long way to building bridges. Unfortunately, I can never see it happening. Even if he did ask, can you imagine the response...

[statsman]

A few issues with that as an idea:

• It would make him look extremely weak when they ignored him. It's a bit like the age old legal maxim, never ask a question to which you do not know the answer. Unless he convinced them to do it before calling on them to do it there would be little value.
• For them to give up their pensions, would require them to concede that they acted knowingly against the public interest as opposed to just making decisions that turned out to be wrong. I seriously doubt that either man would concede this. In Ahern's case, I would doubt that he believes it either.
• It's a lot of dosh to give up. If you were them would you give up your primary income?
• It creates a dangerous precedent. We elect officers to serve on our behalf and to implement a set of policies that they presented to us. The policy platform that FF implemented was fatally flawed but no one can argue that we didn't know they were going to do it. In 1997 yes, 2002 maybe, but 2007 come on. When you hire the dodgy looking dude to do your drive for 500 quid rather than getting a reputable firm in, you don't get to complain when the tarmac comes up in 6 months.

Sadly, I have to agree with you. What we, as a nation, need to learn is that the problem with bad elected politicians is that the electorate were the ones who messed up.

[jetttxyz]

Why only Brian Cowen / FF TDs & Senators ? Why not the entire lot?

Eerily, weirdly and strangely....I haven't heard any union guys condemning the high pensions / salaries. Maybe they're not aware of it!

[Rebel_Yell]

Why only Brian Cowen / FF TDs & Senators ? Why not the entire lot?

Eerily, weirdly and strangely....I haven't heard any union guys condemning the high pensions / salaries. Maybe they're not aware of it!

Damn fine point. What about David Begg, he was after all on the Central Bank Board, or all the union officials that signed up to the wage agreements that were so obviously flawed. Or Jack O'Connor, or the feckless opposition for the last 15 years, or well you can see where I', going.