Getting the Message at Last?
Deaglán de Bréadún
Maybe the establishment in this country is at last beginning to get the message. The decision by senior banker Richie Boucher (51) to forego his Eur 1.5m pension top-up sends out a badly-needed signal that the sacrifices aren’t confined to the lower orders.
Whatever slim chance the Croke Park pay deal now has of getting the approval of the union membership, it would have had none at all as long as this very provocative arrangement was still in existence.
The concept of equality is still foreign to the Irish political and economic system in many respects. Nobody – repeat nobody – should be getting the kind of money these senior figures in the financial sector are being paid, particularly in the light of developments over the last 18 months.
There is an old slogan, “From each according to their ability, to each according to their need.” It’s not a bad basis on which to construct a harmonious and productive society.
