Donie Cassidy - “No one makes any money out of politics"

[louis bernard]

Wears a dodgy rug
Wears a “pioneer” pin
Wants us to drive on the right hand side of the road

How on earth can any one with half a brain take an idiot like this seriously?

[sauntersplash]

Part of me wants to rage, part of me dies inside.

But the saddest part is, there is no part of you that is even mildly surprised.

[Adam24]

I have often wondered if there are any pikes hidden in Donie's thatch?

[reknaw]

So he wants us to drive on the right-hand side of the road! That should lead to an interesting situation in a few places close to the border - like the road from Clones to Cavan.:

Or maybe he envisages the change being phased in over a transitional period of, say, five years when we all drive in the middle.

[topcat4]

Is Donie in danger of losing his seat, I doubt it, you have to ask what kind of gobshi*es the voters of Westmeath are for consistently returning this clown to the Dail.

[Iarmhi Gael]

I have often wondered if there are any pikes hidden in Donie's thatch?

Donie i slike any other FF politician - "Right place at the right time - He'll say".

[Iarmhi Gael]

Is Donie in danger of losing his seat, I doubt it, you have to ask what kind of gobshi*es the voters of Westmeath are for consistently returning this clown to the Dail.

Good Man - Welcome to 2009

[ellie08]

[QUOTE=OceanFrog;2065291]From Times Online an article by Stephen Dunne ... "TDs are still living high on the hog".

In the article Senator Donie Cassidy defends the current unvouched expenses system. He insists that politicians are “incredible value for money”. He said Irish politicians’ expenses are “completely in line” with their colleagues’ in Europe and are “just adequate”. Asked about the levelmof expenses paid to senators and TD's he said that "there has been a reduction in what we used to get 10 years ago.”




So there you have it boys and girls. Our politicians dont make any money from politics and are the envy of Europe!!!

You couldn't make this sh1t up. You really couldn't.

55million euro bill for Senior Ministers' Pensions

By Daniel McConnell Chief Reporter
Sunday September 20 2009
THE extravagant gold-plated pension fund for senior ministers is set to top €55m of taxpayers' money, figures obtained by the Sunday Independent reveal.

Amid heavy criticism from the Opposition and leading economists over the pension award to disgraced FAS chief Rody Molloy last weekend, the true scale of the pensions' excesses of our political leaders has emerged.

The figures show that, as of the summer recess, several ministers including the two Greens, John Gormley and Eamon Ryan, became eligible for their Defined Benefit pensions, after completing the minimum two years' service.

The Taoiseach Brian Cowen's personal pension, given his length of service, is now worth more than €5m, according to pension experts.

Under the pension guidelines as set out by the Department of Finance, Mr Cowen's pensionable salary is €285,000, on which he has taken a 10 per cent reduction in actual salary. However, it has emerged that all the ministerial pay cuts announced in last October's Budget did not impact on pensions.

Health Minister Mary Harney has a pension valued at over €4m. This is because she has been at the cabinet table since 1997, and as she held the title of Tanaiste for more than three years, her pension will be based on the Tanaiste's salary, despite her no longer being in the position. Ministers Dermot Ahern and Micheal Martin, who have also sat at the Cabinet since 1997, have pensions worth between €3.5m to €3.8m each. Other ministers like Willie O'Dea, Brian Lenihan, Martin Cullen and Mary Hanafin and the two Green ministers will have pensions worth no less than €3m.

The rules state that if the Government fell tomorrow, every minister would receive a tax-free lump sum and at least 20 per cent of their salary. Every additional year of service adds five per cent to the value of the pension up to a maximum of 60 per cent after 10 years. The value of the current total Cabinet pension fund is in addition to the major pension payouts to former taoisigh and ministers. All pensions for former ministers are based not on their final salary but on the salary of the incumbent, vastly increasing the value of their pensions.

For example, despite being out of office for years, many of yesterday's politicians are receiving pensions over three times the industrial wage. Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds receives a pension of €103,454 as a TD, minister and taoiseach -- despite only holding the top job for less than two years.

According to Department of Finance figures, former president Mary Robinson received a €146,443 pension in 2007. Former Fine Gael Taoisigh Garret FitzGerald and John Bruton receive €98,315 and €94,627 a year respectively. Other beneficiaries include ex-Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy, who gets a €70,710 pension, while Bobby Molloy and Ray Burke get €64,818 and €54,353.

- Daniel McConnell Chief Reporter

Brian Cowen's pension worth 5m at the mo

[DCon]

[quote=ellie08;2095850]

From Times Online an article by Stephen Dunne ... "TDs are still living high on the hog".

In the article Senator Donie Cassidy defends the current unvouched expenses system. He insists that politicians are “incredible value for money”. He said Irish politicians’ expenses are “completely in line” with their colleagues’ in Europe and are “just adequate”. Asked about the levelmof expenses paid to senators and TD's he said that "there has been a reduction in what we used to get 10 years ago.”




So there you have it boys and girls. Our politicians dont make any money from politics and are the envy of Europe!!!

You couldn't make this sh1t up. You really couldn't.

55million euro bill for Senior Ministers' Pensions

By Daniel McConnell Chief Reporter
Sunday September 20 2009
THE extravagant gold-plated pension fund for senior ministers is set to top €55m of taxpayers' money, figures obtained by the Sunday Independent reveal.

Amid heavy criticism from the Opposition and leading economists over the pension award to disgraced FAS chief Rody Molloy last weekend, the true scale of the pensions' excesses of our political leaders has emerged.

The figures show that, as of the summer recess, several ministers including the two Greens, John Gormley and Eamon Ryan, became eligible for their Defined Benefit pensions, after completing the minimum two years' service.

The Taoiseach Brian Cowen's personal pension, given his length of service, is now worth more than €5m, according to pension experts.

Under the pension guidelines as set out by the Department of Finance, Mr Cowen's pensionable salary is €285,000, on which he has taken a 10 per cent reduction in actual salary. However, it has emerged that all the ministerial pay cuts announced in last October's Budget did not impact on pensions.

Health Minister Mary Harney has a pension valued at over €4m. This is because she has been at the cabinet table since 1997, and as she held the title of Tanaiste for more than three years, her pension will be based on the Tanaiste's salary, despite her no longer being in the position. Ministers Dermot Ahern and Micheal Martin, who have also sat at the Cabinet since 1997, have pensions worth between €3.5m to €3.8m each. Other ministers like Willie O'Dea, Brian Lenihan, Martin Cullen and Mary Hanafin and the two Green ministers will have pensions worth no less than €3m.

The rules state that if the Government fell tomorrow, every minister would receive a tax-free lump sum and at least 20 per cent of their salary. Every additional year of service adds five per cent to the value of the pension up to a maximum of 60 per cent after 10 years. The value of the current total Cabinet pension fund is in addition to the major pension payouts to former taoisigh and ministers. All pensions for former ministers are based not on their final salary but on the salary of the incumbent, vastly increasing the value of their pensions.

For example, despite being out of office for years, many of yesterday's politicians are receiving pensions over three times the industrial wage. Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds receives a pension of €103,454 as a TD, minister and taoiseach -- despite only holding the top job for less than two years.

According to Department of Finance figures, former president Mary Robinson received a €146,443 pension in 2007. Former Fine Gael Taoisigh Garret FitzGerald and John Bruton receive €98,315 and €94,627 a year respectively. Other beneficiaries include ex-Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy, who gets a €70,710 pension, while Bobby Molloy and Ray Burke get €64,818 and €54,353.

- Daniel McConnell Chief Reporter

Brian Cowen's pension worth 5m at the mo

But they will keep repeating the lie that anyone in politics would earn twice as much in the Private Sector.

[Pauli]

Donie i slike any other FF politician - "Right place at the right time - He'll say".

Which in truth translates into

"In Fianna Fail when political corruption was a system of government"