A rather fair article from Dan O Brien
He tells it like it is regarding the shocking public finances.
I pointed out in another thread that Ireland’s Sovereign credit spread has widened and joined those of Club Med (a.k.a the PIGS). Dan O’Brien writes;
First time I have seen this important fact stated in mainsteam media.
Contributions to National Pension Reserve are 1% of GNP.
They are set up on a statutory basis to be paid until 2055.
I think it would make sense to amend that statute, take a 3 year payment holiday and make the payments payable until 2058.
If we consider it risky for individuals to borrow to invest in equity markets, Why should it be different when government borrows to invest in equity market via NPRF?
The enhanced risk premium on Irish government bonds ove rthe past year is entirely explained by our banks share price movements during that time !!!
why can’t we get all of the government - including ministers - to get a defined contribution pension? and in the big cuts they are making why don’t they lead by example and take a wage decrease? show us they too are willing to ‘tighten their belts’
Cowen is paid more than the president of the USA (mind you both are tools) but it makes no sense for the leader of an island to be paid more than the leader of the USA even if it is George W.
I thought it put the boot in annd deservedly so.
Ah MB - bless your heart. Do you not know that the fundamentals are still strong and that taxes are for little people. Sure its all the empties stoopid anyway. And besides - the whole thing is GUBU. Leading us to the natural conclusion that ministerial wages (like housing prices) can only ever go up.
In all seriousness - I’d say the changes of our glorious leaders taking a wage cut are “significantly less than 1%” as John Hurley would put it 
MB for Taoiseach
Are you kidding, Jesus next you’ll be looking for the public service workers to pay money into pension as well.
FFS do you guys working in the private sector not realise we have to look after the public sector?
I mean come on what else do you expect, paying for their own pensions indeed, tch tch tch.
Yeah! What he said!
I remember my wife (public sector worker) looking at my payslip one month in puzzlement and asking what the (rather large - 20% of gross) pension deduction was for!
The amazement on her face when I explained that I wasn’t entitled to anything bar the state pension on retirement was something to behold… 
I’m a civil servant. I pay 6.5% into my pension. Once upon a time most of the private sector had a defined benefit pension. If they decided to give it up, that’s their problem
Believe me judging by your post you’re not that civil 
Also 6.5% what are you saving for your holidays? That has to be the joke of all time 6.5% as an AVC and if you are paying the the higher rate of tax then its probably a net payment of 3.85%. Id bet money I give more to charity. Also I dont see why you shouldnt be obliged to contribute more to what you are going to be living on in retirement instead of the state going out to purchase an annuity on your behalf.
Anyway the crunch will get crunchier so buckle up.
touche!
what’s wrong with my post tho? you said that we don’t contribute to our pensions - I say we do. regarding the wider issue of defined benefit pensions, is it not true that anyone working in a bank/insurance company once had one too?
The private sector workers didn’t ‘decide’ to give it up - they didn’t get the option to have it, since they were no longer on offer.
Defined benefit schemes never made any economic sense, though they were affordable in either a rapidly growing economy (which no longer exists) or a highly inflationary economy (which is the only way to pay for them now).
That the government still offers its cuddled workers a luxury that the economy cannot afford is no surprise - and what’s worse, its still the private sectors ‘problem’ to pay for it.
And where was their union when the banks pulled them?
Ahem not all private workers are employed by banks.
I didn’t say ‘all’
My apologies
but you may as well have.
weather nice in your ivory tower butcheroo?
Your comments smack of an ‘I’m alright jack’ mentality which seems near-universal amongst the public sector
Why don’t you join the civil service and sort it all out then? When things were booming when I was leaving college, noone from the college class would touch the public service with a shitty stick and they made/continue to make a lot more money than me.
I actually have some work to do, so I’ll leave the bitchy comments to fester for a few hours