Former leaders kept pensions despite recession

Senior Celtic Tiger cabinet members, including Bertie Ahern, Brian Cowen, and Mary Harney, are still receiving gold-plated ministerial pensions worth up to €80,000 a year, despite seven years of economic crisis.

Government was forced to admit the situation by the opposition yesterday as it told union leaders engaged in separate pay talks that they must be based on “prudent, modest, and sustainable” aims for low paid workers.

Speaking during a Dáil debate on what action is being taken to ensure the union discussions focus on people in genuine need, Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin confirmed that significant taxpayer-funded payments are still being given to those who led the country as the boom went bust.