That's Capitalism

international | miscellaneous | news Friday January 22, 2010 17:04 by Workers Solidarity 113

The new Financial Regulator at the Central Bank, Matthew Elderfield, will be paid more than €400,000 a year - almost €150,000 more than his predecessor. He starts work this month.

Ireland’s new EU Commissioner, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, receives a Dail pension of over €107,000, as well as her €217,280 salary. The previous Irish commissioner Charlie McCreevy, took home a combined TD and ministerial pension last year of more than €125,000 as well his salary, and former taoiseach and EU ambassador to the US, John Bruton, trousered a pension of over €150,000 on top his €238,000 salary

However, all three refused to tell the Sunday Tribune (29/11/2009) if they would be willing to “forgo some or all of these payments in view of the current economic crisis”.

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23% of all homeless people in the USA are military veterans. A case of ‘fight for your rulers and then feck off’?

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When the government gave €7 billion to AIB and Bank of Ireland last year, they also appointed ‘public interest’ directors. All four of them, including former Labour Party leader Dick Spring, agreed not to take part in the decisions and votes on NAMA because of a possible ‘conflict of interest’. It was decided their first duty is towards bank shareholders and not the taxpayer.