Cowen warns unions but stays silent on pensions
In his speech at the annual Fianna Fáil 1916 commemoration in Dublin’s Arbour Hill yesterday, Taoiseach Brian Cowen gave a clear warning to public servants that if they did not accept the current pay deal, further wage cuts and job losses could be a possibility.
Then, just a few minutes after finishing his speech, he was asked by reporters about Máire Geoghegan Quinn’s lucrative ministerial and TD pensions which, combined, are costing the taxpayer an estimated €107,000 a year.
He refused to say she should forego them, even though she is earning a salary of circa €243,000 as EU Commissioner.
So while on one hand he was prepared to make a fairly clear threat to public servants – for almost all of whom an EU commissioner’s salary is the stuff of fantasy – he clearly was uncomfortable placing any pressure on an old Cabinet colleague to save the taxpayer some money.
Yet while he was reluctant to call on Ms Geoghegan Quinn temporarily to forego her pensions, several of his ministers had no hesitation in doing so.
To varying degrees, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin, Social Affairs Minister Éamon O Cuív and Government Chief Whip John Curran made clear that a person in the commissioner’s position should consider foregoing the pensions.
But this type of cautious reaction from the Taoiseach is nothing new.
When controversy erupted over the proposed €1.5m pension top-up for Bank of Ireland chief executive Richie Boucher, Mr Cowen initially suggested there was nothing the Government could do about it.
Again, it was one of his ministers who first stepped up to the plate and suggested Mr Boucher should forego it. Labour Relations Commission chief executive Kieran Mulvey did likewise.
It was only after such interventions that Mr Cowen eventually came out with the tepid suggestion that it would “help in public perception terms” if Mr Boucher were to forego the top-up. He eventually did, but it’s hard to see how the Taoiseach can claim any credit for it.
Another example of Mr Cowen’s cautiousness was his apparent defence of the way in which the Vatican treated the Murphy Inquiry.
Speaking in the Dáil last December, Mr Cowen appeared to defend the Vatican’s lack of response to the inquiry, which was examining cases of child sex abuse by priests.
The Taoiseach insisted the Vatican had acted “in good faith” in the matter and gone through diplomatic avenues rather than deal directly with the inquiry.
It was left to Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin to show some anger. Mr Martin had no reluctance in criticising the Pope’s initial failure to respond to the Murphy report’s revelations.
Of course, it may be the case that, behind the scenes, the Taoiseach has been placing pressure on the likes of Ms Geoghegan Quinn, Mr Boucher and even the Vatican – and for political or diplomatic reasons does not want to state so publicly.
But for a man who invoked in his speech yesterday Sean Lemass’s ability to engender public confidence, Mr Cowen must realise he is failing to inspire confidence by continuing to react so cautiously to pressing issues on which the public wants clear and visible leadership.
