HSE payments - New poor are paying the price

IS there no end to the gross excesses of secret golden handshakes and pension pots in the public service?

With the country broke, the economy in tatters and families struggling to survive, people have every right to be incensed at the latest revelations showing the extent to which secret deals behind closed doors are contributing to the ever growing gap between haves and have-nots in Ireland.

As the latest disclosures show, a dwindling number of beleaguered tax payers are supporting a new elite from the upper echelons of the public sector. For the former group, the economic crisis is characterised by severe austerity, punitive cuts and hidden taxes. For the latter element, retirement has become a gravy train.