Sir, – At last, courtesy of Arthur Beesley (Front page, March 11th), a decent spelling out of the ridiculous level of politicians’ pensions as compared to our European equals.
But why concentrate on prime ministers? This scandal of immense dimension includes our saintly ex-presidents and all retired ministers (at least). But let’s admire again what they did – invent a thing called benchmarking, attach their wagons to it, destroy the country and then depart with the spoils.
What seems to get little mention in all of this is that the cash they continue to rake out of the system could be a source of job creation. It has been calculated that a job in certain areas can be costed at €25,000 each – if so, every extra €25,000 in those pensions sends another of our kids to London, Melbourne, or Montreal, thus losing for the nation a whole raft of the current young generation. Does anyone think that they care a hoot?
When asked to comment, Richard Bruton suggests the government can’t do much about it. Did he or someone close to him not have similar comments on the salaries of judges? Yet the country sorted that. So , if he and his friends think there is no answer, the best is probably to move aside and let someone with a smidgeon of lateral thought consider a special tax or a constitutional amendment. If not, we, the quiet ones out here, may remind them later on that we expect more. – Yours, etc,
DERMOT HERBERT,
Churchview Drive,
Killiney,
Co Dublin.