Our big bucks bosses sure are sucking diesel..
YOU wouldn’t always find me singing from the same hymn sheet as Bob Geldof.
But he was on the right track when he branded Ireland a Banana Republic.
It’s now over 40 years since The Boomtown Rats’ scathing attack on this “septic isle” was a hit single.
Yet the people of Ireland are still nowhere nearer to being in the driving seat when it comes to having a real say in how this country is run.
We’ve got an inept government driving blind at the best of times.
It’s scandalous how they turn a blind eye to fat cats’ bloated salaries and perks when the economy is running on fumes.
The American dream is obviously alive and well in rural Ireland when Paul Reid can earn more than the US President’s chief medical advisor Dr Anthony Fauci.
The HSE boss, who left school at 16, is obviously a driven character.
Undoubtedly he should be applauded for putting his shoulder to the wheel on his road to success.
And Mr Reid is surely sucking diesel these days.
He’s certainly gone the extra mile with regards to his company car allowance.
He claimed a staggering €19,141 for 2020, as first reported by the Irish Mirror.
A junior nurse earns just €22k, which really puts things into perspective.
And if that wasn’t enough to drive you around the bend, he also enjoyed a chauffeur service with an army driver in a sponsored BMW.
This driver ferried him from his Leitrim home to Dublin, and back again, during the first six months of that year as the pandemic took hold.
It does not add up that someone could clock up enough miles for the price of a nice car at the best of times, never mind when the country was under strict lockdown.
And it’s only a small part of remuneration package of a whop
They turn a blind eye to fat cats’ bloated salaries
ping €426k a year. This car must be guzzling fuel to beat the band because it works out at almost €1,600 per month, which is more than a lot of people earn. I recently saw a tweet that claimed Mr Reid and Dr Fauci both coincidentally made €420k, albeit in different currencies. I thought it was fake news. But, on closer inspection, it worked out the figures had been rounded down!
The US president’s right-hand man in the fight against Covid earned $434,312 and Mr Reid earned about $488k.
That’s almost $90,000 more than Joe Biden’s salary.
Is it right that in a country such as ours these big salaries and travel allowances are paid out? Why not abolish travel expenses for those earning above €200k?
Our small island cannot afford to keep motoring along with public servants and RTE stars on astronomical wages greater than that of the US President.
No wonder a pair of Yanks wrote that song When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.
It’s about time we wiped the smirks off their faces.