Boucher's U-turn on pension reflects growing public anger

BACKGROUND: Decision to relinquish top-up came after fierce criticism by union leaders and Opposition, writes STEPHEN COLLINS…

BACKGROUND:Decision to relinquish top-up came after fierce criticism by union leaders and Opposition, writes STEPHEN COLLINSPolitical Correspondent

BANK OF Ireland chief executive Richie Boucher’s decision to forgo his €1.45 million pension top-up came after Taoiseach Cowen said earlier yesterday that it would be helpful “in public perception terms” if he did not accept it.

While he insisted that the Government could not intervene in the matter, the Taoiseach’s remarks ratcheted up the pressure on Mr Boucher to forgo the top-up, which cost €1.45 million.

Mr Cowen was responding to Opposition pressure and the view of Labour Relations Commission chief executive Kieran Mulvey that such awards were creating a negative climate in industrial relations and would discourage acceptance of the proposed new public service pay deal.

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Asked if he would like Mr Boucher to forgo the money and if that would help matters in relation to the proposed deal, known as the Croke Park deal, Mr Cowen said: “Obviously it would help in public perception terms”. He hoped people would see “the big picture” in relation to the proposed public service pay and reform deal.

Green Party chairman Senator Dan Boyle tweeted: "I feel this is a final straw for many people and we have to ensure that BoI and Mr Boucher do not proceed with this". Mr Boyle told The Irish Timesthat the Government needed to use "whatever means necessary" to prevent the payment going ahead. "We defer too much to legal niceties. Government wants to play by the rules. Our experience dealing with many of these institutions is they disregard the rules."

Last night sources in both coalition parties claimed that Mr Boucher’s decision had come in response to the moral pressure applied by the Government, but this was disputed by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny.

While he welcomed Mr Boucher’s decision, he said the issue should never have arisen in the first place.

“And it’s no thanks to Brian Cowen that the decision has been changed. Since I raised this issue in the Dáil yesterday morning the Government has stood idly by while this controversy raged. It was only the depth of public anger and political pressure that resulted in this U-turn,” said Mr Kenny.

He added that senior members of the banking sector must now realise the pain, hardship and suffering that their actions have caused to the wider community. “I hope on foot of this decision that Michael Fingleton will respond in a similar fashion and return his €1million bonus payment.”

Separately the president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Jack O’Connor said the pension top-up “stinks to high heaven” and warned that the controversy could have a detrimental effect on the outcome of the vote on the Croke Park deal.

Speaking after a meeting of the executive council of Ictu yesterday, Mr O’Connor said the pension top-up for Mr Boucher had damaged the public perception of the behaviour of those in authority more than anything that had happened since the financial crisis broke in September 2008.

“Rightly or wrongly, it is being interpreted as a signal that despite all the talk of a new departure, it is business as usual,” he said. “It is the nod and the wink. If a thing can’t be done one way, it will be done another way.”