ENDA KENNY HAS today rejected suggestions he misled the Dáil by saying bonuses had not been paid to Irish Water staff.
Fianna Fail TD Seán Fleming this afternoon claimed Kenny may have misled TDs when he said “no bonuses have been paid to anyone in Irish Water.”
However, a government spokesperson insisted this evening that what the Taoiseach had said was “absolutely correct,” and added:
Deputy Fleming should establish the facts before making baseless allegations.
During a lively Dáil debate on 7 October, the Taoiseach said:
No bonuses have been paid to anyone in Irish Water and the chief executive will not be paid a bonus.
Irish Water does not have a policy of pay increments and has a pay freeze until 2016.
In a letter dated yesterday, Irish Water’s parent company Ervia, told Fleming it had paid out €5.1 million in bonuses to 940 staff so far this year:
An excerpt from the letter addressed to Sean Fleming TD
Ervia – which emerged from the amalgamation of Bórd Gáis and Irish Water – also says that 547 of its staff got €3.7 million in bonuses last year.
In a statement this afternoon, Fleming asked:
[INDENT]Are we really expected to believe that this does not include any bonuses being paid to staff at Irish Water?
[INDENT]The Taoiseach told the Dáil on October 7th that ‘no bonuses have been paid to anyone in Irish Water. Does he stand over that statement today?[/INDENT][/INDENT]
[QUOTE=“ChocolateMice, post: 1031983, member: 168”]Hubert Kearns was Sligo County Manager for 17 years and when he retired in 2013 he received a lump sum of 270,000 and a pension of 68,000 per year. His time as Sligo manager was controversial and he left behind a County debt of 80 million. “It’s not the end of the world, nobody died,” he said about the council’s financial woes. At one stage he refused to attend council meetings in a dispute with an independent Councillor and spent more than €50,000 council money hiring HR consultant Declan Naughton to monitor meetings. Asked to comment on reports that his own pay as Sligo Manager, at €136,000, was €30,000 more than that of the Spanish prime minister, Mr Kearns said his salary was fixed by Government. “I am surprised that the Spanish prime minister earns so little.”
So after retiring from Sligo he has his pockets full, thanks to the taxpayer, has Mr Kearns taken up fishing? No, Hubert has apparently found gainful employment with Irish Water.
Irish Water, home to retired Council managers, headed up by retired Dublin Manager John Tierney (salary 200,000 Eur). But apparently Irish Water managers would have to get by on a measly 100,000. Hopefully though they might be able to survive once the expenses and free cars are factored in.[/QUOTE]
I’m fairly surprised too the Spanish prime minister earns so little in fairness. The figures for Barack Obamas salary and the likes seem very little too. Does he really only earn 200k a year or whatever they say? For that level of responsibility?
Willie O’Dea is refusing to hand over his PPS to these bastards… Joe Leddin, Limerick city councillor and parlimentary aide to Jan O’Sullivan, is leading the protest this Saturday
Irish Water has been slammed for putting a water meter outside a ‘fake’ house in Co Donegal.
The derelict house, which has been boarded up for many years, is located on Ballybofey’s Main St. The local Tidy Towns Association even painted fake curtains, plant pots, and windows on the building.
However, that didn’t stop contractors from GMC Sierra from installing a water meter at the house last week.
Two workmen spent two hours fitting the meter and installing a cap.
The move has been slammed by local Fianna Fáil county councillor Patrick McGowan, who said it was a “complete waste of resources”.
He said Irish Water must stop placing meters outside derelict houses and concentrate on fixing leaks instead.
“This is just a complete waste of money and resources. They just cannot go around and place water meters at every building,” he said.
“The local Tidy Towns committee are active in trying to make these derelict buildings presentable. And now money and resources are being spent on placing water meters at them.
“Irish Water would need to step back and take a look at where they are spending their resources.
“All this money would be better spent improving the quality of water and making sure leaks are fixed.”
