Truculent Taoiseach insists pay rise will stay

A DEFIANT Bertie Ahern yesterday rejected any suggestion that the substantial pay rises awarded to him and his ministers be deferred or delayed.

But it came as Fine Gael launched a blistering attack on the awards made by a review group to ministers and top public servants.

The party’s deputy leader Richard Bruton described the report as an “affront to accountability” and having only a veneer of independence.