Most of the country is angry with the revelations that RTÉ Executives were given golden handshakes.
The chief financial officer Breda O’Keeffe walked away with a €450,000 exit package. Simon Coveney’s brother, Rory Coveney, got €200,000.
But the pattern of golden handshakes is widespread throughout corporate Ireland and the top echelons of the state. The Irish elite have a massive sense of entitlement and think the world owes them a living.
It is a different story for workers. Just 40% of skilled workers have pension coverage whereas in Accommodation and Food services it is only 24%. And very few of these workers expect the golden handshake that their bosses claim.
After the bank crash of 2008, there were massive payouts given to the very people who presided over failed economic policies.
- Colm O Doherty was the former chief executive of AIB. He got a €3 million payout.
- Pat Neary was the financial regulator who did not spot anything wrong with Irish banks. He got a €630,00 payoff.
Government leaders also think they were so important that we have to pay up to ensure they live a life of luxury. Brian Cowe, Bertie Ahern, and Enda Kenny are on pensions of over €100,000 a year.
So, yes, the RTÉ golden handshake is a disgrace. But so too is the sense of entitlement that pervades the corporate and state elite.
Give workers decent pension rights – and cut the handouts to the elite.