Madam, – T Gerard Bennett (October, 2nd) seems to be under the mistaken impression that public sector employees have increased their pension contributions and that, at the point of retirement, they shall see this money again. The public sector has not increased pension contributions, its employees pay a pension levy.
There is a difference. The pension levy I pay monthly goes in no way towards my pension, it goes straight into the national coffers. It is, in essence, a pay cut.
There seems to be a massive amount of wilful ignorance in the debate surrounding public sector wages, etc. This goes in no way towards aiding an already fraught situation; it merely adds fuel to a media campaign of divide et impera. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I was heartened to read Fintan O’Toole’s article (Opinion, October 6th). As a young Irish graduate seeking work abroad, I would much rather read accounts of solidarity among Irish people in a bid to get ourselves out of this mess, rather than a petty war between members of the private and public sectors.
It is misdirected anger that would be better placed in a unified stance against those who are truly accountable for our current state, the Government.
In this way we might actually move towards a fair and balanced way of raising the relevant finances needed, and people like myself and countless other graduates who would much rather be working at home and contributing to the Irish economy with our skills and expertise, can begin to see this as a realistic possibility. It is time we started to grow up as a nation, and move away from the common belief that justice exists only when somebody else is getting a worse deal, – Yours, etc,