‘Parachute’ pay-off as Callely nets €31,754 for resigning ministry

FORMER government minister Ivor Callely got a “parachute payment” of €31,754 after stepping down from his job for accepting a free perk, it was revealed yesterday.

Callely, who also lost his Dublin North-Central seat in May’s General Election, got the sum as severance pay last year after resigning in December 2005.

Resigning junior ministers are entitled to a sliding scale of severance pay over two years with last year’s sum coming to €31,754.

Former minister Jim McDaid, who resigned his transport ministry post, received €12,227 in severance as well as a pension of €10,921.

The amounts were contained in the audited financial statements of the exchequer, which were published by the Government’s public spending watchdog, Comptroller and Auditor General John Purcell, yesterday.

The accounts also revealed former Government ministers and senior civil servants received pensions of €3.7 million last year in keeping with their employment rights.

Two former presidents — Dr Patrick J Hillery and Mary Robinson — received €136,659 each in pensions while Rita Childers, the widow of Erskine H Childers, received a sum of €68,329.

Of the pensions to former ministers, the greatest sums went to former taoisigh such as Fine Gael’s John Bruton, who picked up a pension of €89,777.

FG’s Garrett FitzGerald took home €93,275 in pensions for his time in the top office while Fianna Fáil’s Albert Reynolds collected €98,151 for his work.

FF leader Charlie Haughey, who passed away in June last year, was paid €48,545.

Serving TDs who receive pensions for their work as ministers in former administrations include FG’s Bernard Allen, who gets €5,518 while FG leader Enda Kenny receives a pension of €14,177.

Former FF finance minister Charlie McCreevy who is now the European Commissioner for the Internal Market got a pension of €67,086 last year.

Other former and serving Dáil notables on the roll of pensions include Progressive Democrats founder Desmond O’Malley, who received €50,314.

Conor Cruise O’Brien got €33,834 while Dick Spring got €69,048 and Emmet Stagg €7,763.

The accounts also show President Mary McAleese was paid €277,469 last year and also had a €317,434 annual allowance, a total of €594,903.

Allowances for the expenses incurred by the leaders of the seven parties represented in the Dáil last year came to €7.5m.

Fianna Fáil got the most at €2.7m with the Socialist Party getting the least on €64,219.

Fine Gael got €2.1m, Labour €1.4m, PDs €510,000, the Greens €385,000 and Sinn Féin €321,000.

Additionally, independents got €622,000 for expenses.

Salaries to judges, from those sitting in the Supreme Court to justice in the districts courts, came to €21m.

The Chief Justice received €261,000 while the eight judges of the Supreme Court shared €1.7m.

At district court level some 54 judges shared €6.7m.