“Because I’m Worth It” is not good enough justification for recent salary increases - Daly

Salary increases in line with industry are acceptable if the economy can stand it and if the service is being provided but in the current climate ministerial increases seem ill timed according to Fine Gael’s Cllr Richard Daly

“I have listened to Taoiseach Ahern and Minister Dempsey sounding more like cosmetic commercials than politicians justifying salary increases with “because I’m worth it” lines and I question both the timing and the amount of the increase.

In an economic climate when hospital queues are getting longer, the school building programme is years in arrears, employment in the building sector is spiralling downwards, Minister Cowan’s economic forecast is recommending caution and inflation is rising, the Taoiseach and his ministers have increased their wages by the equivalent of the average industrial wage.

Are we getting value for money? Is the increase benchmarked with performance? Take for example the largest salary and increase of Brendan Drumm of the HSE. Has the Health service improved to such a degree that Prof Drumm is awarded even more than the inflated salary of our own Taoiseach which in turn exceeds that of most world leaders in the western world.” said Cllr Daly

“Minister “because I’m worth it” Dempsey has last week been rewarded with a salary in excess of €200,000. The minister who made a complete mess of the impending road safety initiatives has performed similarly in the past. It was he who was not in sync with his Transport department in the six weeks preceeding the Shannon announcement. The same minister during his Education stint endeared himself to the teaching community by telling them that he would send out inspectors before Christmas to ensure that no school closed early. And wasn’t it Minister Dempsey, during his Environment ministry who set the electronic voting scene which has cost us a fortune in purchase and storage.

As employers now try to negotiate wages with employees their position is significantly weakened by the fact that despite the slowdown in our economy the policy of salary increase in firmly established and this will have inflationary implications.

If delivery of manifesto promises is the benchmark for pay increases then I fear that government ministers should more likely be expecting reduction in wages as they are beginning to acknowledge that most of the promises will never be realised. If benchmarking is to apply to other sectors let it also apply to our politicians. Said Daly.

ENDS