Adams spins the wages myth - AGAIN!

[drjimryan]

Hi all.....heard the leader of Sinn fein / IRA on last nights news talking about td's wages.......once again he spurted out the absolute myth that 'our td's only draw the minimum wage........So i ask if this is true and sinn fein/ira have really left behind their criminal past where does the remaining money go?
Is it donated to charity? or thrown in the liffey? it cannot be donated to the party as their are limits of around €6000.....

So lets say 92000 salary and approximately 50000 expenses, i rekon thats a surplus of about 55000 so where does this go?...just thought i'd ask because i'm lost

[Coles]

Adams is the leader of 'Sinn Fein/IRA' ? Has Paisley been pissing in your ear or have you adopted 'DUP-speak' to avoid using your own mind? ...Lost indeed...

[factual]

Hi all.....heard the leader of Sinn fein / IRA on last nights news talking about td's wages.......once again he spurted out the absolute myth that 'our td's only draw the minimum wage........So i ask if this is true and sinn fein/ira have really left behind their criminal past where does the remaining money go?
Is it donated to charity? or thrown in the liffey? it cannot be donated to the party as their are limits of around €6000.....

So lets say 92000 salary and approximately 50000 expenses, i rekon thats a surplus of about 55000 so where does this go?...just thought i'd ask because i'm lost

Not quite correct. Sinn Fein representatives recive the average industrial wage, and the rest goes to the party to promote party objectives. Sinn Fein representatives aren't in politics for the money!

[drjimryan]

thanks factual......so youre confirming the view that they are acting illegally......?

[Maximus]

Not quite correct. Sinn Fein representatives recive the average industrial wage, and the rest goes to the party to promote party objectives. Sinn Fein representatives aren't in politics for the money!

According to the Standards in Public Offices Commission Records for 2005, Sinn Féin TDs only donated €6,000 out of their salary (c. 90k) to the party, perhaps you'd like to indicate how the remaining 50k was transferred into the party coffers / use without contravening the Electoral Act 1997?

[hiding behind a poster]

Not quite correct. Sinn Fein representatives recive the average industrial wage, and the rest goes to the party to promote party objectives. Sinn Fein representatives aren't in politics for the money!

So how does the money find its way to the party without breaching the legal limit for donations, factual?

[rockofcashel]

Some would be spent by the individual TD's on providing full time constituency offices, over and above those provided for in expenses by virtue of them being a TD.

For example, if I were to be elected, I would be entitled to a constituency office as a member, which would have a certain level of expenses paid.

However, I would also open extra constituency offices which would offer full or part-time help to as many of my constituents as I could afford.

This would be paid for directly from my own pocket, but which would also be promoting the party.

[Maximus]

Some would be spent by the individual TD's on providing full time constituency offices, over and above those provided for in expenses by virtue of them being a TD.

For example, if I were to be elected, I would be entitled to a constituency office as a member, which would have a certain level of expenses paid.

However, I would also open extra constituency offices which would offer full or part-time help to as many of my constituents as I could afford.

This would be paid for directly from my own pocket, but which would also be promoting the party.

But surely this is the same as what other TDs do in terms of hiring extra staff, opening their own offices, covering their own leaflets, polls etc… it doesnt sound like there's any real formalised approach to ensuring you ‘only’ get the average industrial wage as advertised by Adams...

[hiding behind a poster]

And even the cost of buying the 'aul dhrink for your team at the end of the night mounts up over time.

Rock, it does sound as if this "average industrial wage" thing is is just a way of turning what other TDs stump up from their wages as a matter of course, into a glorified party expense account.

[cain1798]

Could someone clarify something for me? Is this the 17th or the 18th time the exact same issue with the exact same questions getting the exact same answers has come up?

The system is so simple even a child can manage it. The failure of some on this site to grasp it is food for thought. Sinn Féin elected representatives take the Average Industrial Wage. In the Six Counties, where the Electoral Act doesn't apply, MLAs/MPs/MEP pay ALL their wages into the party, every penny. The party then pays them out of that money and the surplus is used for party activity.

In the South, things are a bit more complicated because of the Electoral Act. TDs pay in the maximum in allowed donations and the rest is spent supporting local constituency organisations or external campaigns in a way that scrupulously adheres to the provisions of the Electoral Act. It would give us a lot more flexibility if we could operate the same system in the North as in the South, but we can't, so there are restrictions on it. We deal with it best we can.

The take-home pay of a Sinn Féin elected representative anywhere on this island is the average industrial wage. Sin é. It ensures money for the party, combats careerism and is a disincentive to people who might otherwise be interested in joining the party without sufficient commitment, as took place with one Cork based councillor from another party.

Lastly boys and girls, we're not unique. The SP operate the same system. Worker's representatives on a worker's wage is a basic part of parliamentary socialism and exists elsewhere in the world.

As for expenses, all elected representatives who are full-time for the party keep whatever expenses their position entitles them to.