Taxpayer picking up tab for watch gift

SO, the past top dog at Irish Nationwide was given a €11,500 watch which finished up as a total burden to the Irish taxpayer of over €20,000, this is on top of his lump sum payment of €1m and a hefty pension pot.

This person’s behaviour is a shining example of the people and mentality that has broken this country.

I can only think of the boot lickers and cronies who put the idea forward to present him with such a “retirement” gift, plus pick up the tab for the Benefit in Kind tax.

Is it any wonder why outsiders see Ireland as a Banana Republic with two distinct social levels — the haves and the have-nots.

I have the feeling that this behaviour will create a few tut-tuts and be swept under the carpet in the same way that the bosses’ actions at AIB were.

Given the mentality of the Irish psyche about “cute hoors”, all of these people will slip into obscurity with large bank balances and a secure lifestyle.

In the meantime, the rest of us Joe Soaps are being forced to pay up without much protest.

Considering a top-of-the-range Rolex is likely to cost around €6,000, it must have been some blingy timepiece to flash around and hopefully impress people and give the aura of being a “successful” tycoon. I wouldn’t have even given him and his ilk a Chinese replica which costs €30.

John Rowley

Edenderry

Co Offaly