Why Cowen’s pay pact calls ring hollow

OUR new Taoiseach Brian Cowen warned the social partners on wage restraint before he took up office.

Would that be the same Brian Cowen who as Minister for Finance made sure that any decrease in income tax was more than offset by stealth taxes?

Could that be the same Brian of Finance who oversaw the massive rise in house prices while creating a banking atmosphere that facilitated ridiculous loans ensuring a future of evictions and impossible mortgages?

Is it the Brian who boasted about the Celtic Tiger while one in five people in Ireland lives on less than e200 a week? Does that Brian know or care how hard it must be to live on e200-a-week?

Could it be the same Brian Cowen who voted with the Government to raise his personal salary by e38,000 a year next year (that’s the increase, not the amount). Has Brian calculated that while one in five voters live on less than e200 a week, he has voted himself an increase of e730 a week?

Has Brian looked at his new Taoiseach’s salary to discover that he’ll be on e5,960 every week while one-fifth of citizens in the State he leads will get less than e200.

Is that the same Brian lecturing us on wage restraint ?

John Mallon

Shamrock Grove

Mayfield

Cork