Fury at size of golden payouts to TDs

IN THE early months of summer, Gabriel was full of hope for his family and three-year-old disabled daughter.

He was put to the top of the list for an affordable home, and thought the days of carrying his little girl up and down three flights of stairs to their one-bedroom apartment in Galway had come to an end.

Three weeks ago he was told the money for the housing scheme has dried up and the family must stay in the small apartment.

Yesterday, Gabriel was furious with the news that 54 TDs and senators who lost their seats in last year’s elections got termination payments of up to €85,000 in the past year to help them back on their feet.

The news in yesterday’s Irish Examiner was followed by further revelations on RTÉ that two junior ministers who lost their ministerial posts earlier this year got €53,000 each to soften the blow, while Bertie Ahern got a severance payment of €68,000 after resigning as taoiseach.

“The affordable house was €130,000, which was going to be paid back anyway over time. We’re not looking for something for nothing. The cost of it is just about two of the payments made to the TDs,” Gabriel said yesterday.

Ciarán was on his way into the dole office in Cork when he read about the “golden handshakes”.

“I was just so angry when I heard. I’m ripping,” he told RTÉ’s Liveline.

Ciarán is a tiler and said work has dried up since Christmas. He is not sure if he will be entitled to social welfare payments, and, unlike the former TDs, will not be getting any helping hand payments from the state to get back on his feet.

“They are living in a cocoon these fellas. They have no idea what is going on out here. They are all living in a different world up there. They lose all track of the realities,” he said.

News of generous bonuses, expenses and pension payments made to politicians have always caused public outrage.

During the Celtic Tiger boom years the stories were soon brushed under the table and only spoken about by the “begrudgers”.

But with people losing their jobs on a daily basis, and up to 300,000 people expected to be out of work by Christmas, the news of generous sweet-heart payments has touched a particular nerve with the public.

In a television address just weeks before the harsh budget of 1980, Charlie Haughey told people of the need to tighten their belts, while himself living a life of luxury.

Comparisons to this were made yesterday by angry taxpayers. “Brian Cowen and his Government representatives were on the television there a few weeks ago telling the people of the country that we had to tighten up and spend wisely because we’re heading for bad times. They don’t seem to be doing that themselves,” said Gabriel.

The payments are designed to help former politicians re-establish themselves if they suddenly find themselves out of work. But some of those receiving the generous sums have returned to high-paying jobs, such as Michael McDowell who practises as a high-ranking barrister.

John from Cork said yesterday: “There are 400 people who lost their jobs in Cork in the past week and a half. They’re not entitled to anything except the dole and they give Liz O’Donnell €90,000 after losing her seat.

“I’m sorry, but they put themselves before the electorate and if you lose you lose. If a person loses their job today they have to scratch around looking for a job. Why doesn’t Liz O’Donnell have to do the same?”

Another John, in Tramore, Co Waterford, recently lost his job after 30 years of service but has to wait another 19 years — when he reaches 65 — to collect a pension. Former TDs and senators get a pension once they reach 50.

Opposition parties were unwilling to criticise the payments yesterday, given that they are available to members of all parties.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said: “There is a level of worry among people about their jobs and their businesses that I’ve certainly never seen in all of my time in public life.

“People in those circumstances look to their Government to chart some sort of road map to get out of the difficulty.”

But as things stand, people are looking to their Government, and the entire political establishment, and see people who are light years away from what is happening to the thousands of families around the country facing hard times.