It doesn’t pay to believe all Civil Service privilege stories

LIKE internet stories about faked moon landings and how the ‘illuminati’ run the world, stories about public service special payments are legion.

Your average civil servant gets a financial re-up for wearing shoes to work, or if the wind changes direction, or if the kitchen runs out of ginger nuts. Since Brendan Howlin hid in his bedroom rather than slash and cut like he promised, the media has been joyfully listing daft allowances.

As headlines, many of these payments are an outrage-inducing gift.