Madam, – I was amazed to hear Alan Dukes, incoming chairman of Anglo Irish Bank, defending pay rises for his bank officials (Breaking News, March 24th). How quickly he has absorbed the banking culture and lost sight of the views of the nation!
The staff of Anglo Irish have escaped the public service pay cuts, are doing well to be still employed, and need no pay rises for several years to come. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The logical conclusion of the support Alan Dukes (our “watchdog” in our bank) has shown for the Anglo Irish Bank pay rises is that the Passport Office workers are quite correct. Anglo Irish Bank staff get paid more for doing more work, the Passport Office workers get paid less, so they should do less work. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I am shocked that 70 staff members at Anglo Irish Bank will receive pay increases at the Irish taxpayers’ expense.
While hundreds of thousands of Irish people are losing their jobs or having their wages cut substantially, I cannot see how these pay increases for staff at Anglo are justifiable.
The bank is owned by the Irish Government, which has injected billions into the banking sector, while slashing the budgets of several Government departments (such as education, transport and social welfare) that play crucial roles in the daily lives of Irish men, women and children.
At a time when job seeker’s benefit, lone parent’s allowance and other important benefits that aid the most vulnerable in this society are being cut, it is deplorable that staff at a toxic institution, which brought the entire banking sector its knees, are seeing their wages increased.
While the Obama administration’s “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg has substantially reduced the salaries of top executives in a number of large firms in direct receipt of US government aid, here the political establishment is so intertwined with bankers, developers and other vested interest groups, that the Government would never dare do anything to upset the cosy influence these people have in our society.
Moreover, it is inexcusable that Anglo refused to disclose to RTÉ’s Primetime programme how much the pay increases were. This is a State-owned institution and it is imperative that the ordinary taxpayer know how much of an increase the 70 staff at Anglo are receiving. I believe it is now time for Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan to reverse those pay increases. Not only would such a decision be a morally good one, it would also be a widely popular one and might help Fianna Fáil’s popularity rating in the polls. I won’t hold my breath. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – If the Government is powerless to prevent pay increases at the State-owned Anglo Irish Bank, what hope has it of ensuring that the credit policies of the other banks concentrate on helping SMEs rather than bolstering capital bases to benefit owners and bondholders? – Yours, etc,