McCreevy’s €1.2m golden handshake

CHARLIE McCREEVY will get a golden handshake package worth more than €1.2 million when his term as Ireland’s representative on the European Commission ends in the new year.

Mr McCreevy will get an EU Commissioner pension of €51,068 per year on top of his ministerial pension of €70,710 and pension as a Kildare North TD of €52,213. This will bring his total annual pension to over €173,000.

The outgoing Commissioner for Internal Markets is entitled to a step-down payment of €537,000 over the next three years to help him adjust to losing his generous salary.