Sir, – In November 2009, the new governor of the Central Bank called for the cap on bankers’ salaries to be increased to above €500,000. This week he called for the salaries of teachers, nurses, gardaí and clerical assistants to be reduced further in a bid to help deleverage the Irish State (Home News, February 1st). Patrick Honohan forgets that it is not the incompetence of the aforementioned teachers, nurses and gardaí that have got us to this sorry state.
One would be entitled to expect that a man such as Mr Honohan would understand that the average teacher, nurse or garda has lost between one quarter and one third of their take-home salary over the past three years. There is only a certain amount that you can cut and expect people to keep working and paying their mortgage. It is surely self-evident that Ireland will not be saved by the penury of its employees.
The people who drive our ambulances, run our hospitals, clean our streets are after all, human beings. They have a basic right to go to work each morning, pick up a newspaper or turn on the radio without being subjected to the intimidation of yet another highly paid banker, politician, economist, or columnist baying for further cuts in their salaries. – Yours, etc,