Kelleher: Coughlan did the right thing
Minister for State Billy Kelleher has defended the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan’s handling of the Rody Molloy issue.
The Tánaiste has come under fire for not seeking legal advice before agreeing to a generous pension package for the former director general of FÁS.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen admitted yesterday that Mr Molloy’s €1.1m 'golden handshake' was given without a threat of legal action, contradicting evidence given to the Public Accounts Committee last week.
However, Minister Kelleher said that legal advice might not be required if the retirement package did not breach established guidelines.
“The difficulty that we have is that people have rights and entitlements under the terms of contract of employment and whether people like it or not that is the factual position,” he said.
“I think a lot of the criticism being levelled at her is unfair. The Director General decided that he would tender his resignation and there are guidelines in place on how you compensate a person who tenders their resignation.”
However, Minister Kelleher questioned the level of general pay and conditions for people in high-level positions.
“Most people at those levels are being paid too much anyway. We probably should look at the whole remunerative package of high end civil servants.
“The public certainly has a view that we’re being paid too much and I think they’re right.
“If you are on €200,000 a year and you retire from the civil service it means you are on a pension of €100,000. You also get a substantial lump sum on retirement. The point being that if you are on a high end salary for years you should have enough money to put all your affairs in order as opposed to a person who has been on a very small wage all their lives.”
