Disposable Income?????? Is that the money i’ve just found down the back of the sofa, Well i’m going to dispose of it in the shop to by bread to make sandwiches for the kids lunch tomorrow. Welcome to the real world.

@stephen- doesn’t quite tally with your “the country’s at breaking point” rhetoric, does it? A bit embarrassing for you.

what didn’t it do?

Agreed. I am worse off financially this year, not better.

I found a 50 cent coin in an old pair of jeans…so mine went up 10%. roll on the good times..

ur right 35000 isn’t a bad wages it ain’t a great one either I’ve been working 15 years have the same bills as anybody’s I’ve taken two pay cuts wife lost her job it’s shouldn’t be about people on average and below wages fighting against each other for it is us how taken more than are share of the pain. I’m not saying that I don’t have more to give but it’s can’t be money and I’m not defending public servants on 60000 getting pay rises.we need to start been fair to each other.

I know what you mean,Sadly it is not always the case as long as someone is earning good money they sometimes dismiss the less fortunate or turn a blind eye.
The only way anything will ever change is of we can get in a decent government not driven by 200k a year which is more than Obama gets

MVM- do you never tire of trotting out that rhetoric? You would have our Taoiseach on minimum wage, would you? He’s the Chief Executive of Ireland plc and irrespective of which party he’s from, he deserves a wage commensurate with such a position. Your analogy comparing him to other world leaders is fundamentally flawed. An American President is set for life after leaving office- as is a British Prime Minister through book deals, speaker circuits etc. That’s built into their wage. It’s patently not the case with a Taoiseach. But you know that- but why let the truth get in the way of populist ranting, eh?

@vincent,enda Isin worth half the minimum wage,
Bahahaha you really believe he won’t be sorted for life they all are,ah how you swallow the rubbish they spew

@ Vincent he is the third highest paid prime minister in the EU. Why?

Yeah. The famine’s back, Ken.

The “thumbs down” must have come from that very sector of society i was referring to! I dont know any of my “middle class” circle who have a bob! Most are to the pin of their collar trying to get by and articles like this dont reflect the true position at all. A nation in economic ruin and the “path of least resistance”is expected to fund it all.

clum I’m a public service married with 2 kids take home 560 a week work bloody hard in the ID sector. with less staff and resources all the time it’s only going to get worst. so less of the silly jokes please.

Nellie

I work in the private sector. Have a 4 year degree. Have a wife & 3 kids. I take home less than you. I fund my own defined contribution pension, which means my pension is determined by the stock market, not like yours which is based on your final salery. Employee numbers where I work are down about 1/3 in the last 3 years. I have not had any increase of any kind in my take home pay in 5 years. No extra money even for the extra work I have had to take on just to keep my job.

You think this is a joke? Would you like to swap jobs? Cause from where I’m sitting your are dong better than me.

The private sector did fine during the boom a lot better than public servants in fact, people didn’t want to be in the public services when times were good and now they lash public workers out of it. People chose their own way in life .The problem is when we eventually get out of this recession and things pick up the private sector wages will fly up again and public works will be forgotten about.

I know a girl working for the hse on flexi time or in other words when ever she feels like working if she needs a day off she just stays in a bit longer to clock out and builds up time..
Actually heard her moan she can’t get anyone to clock her out anymore because they have a CCTV camera over the clock station, for fu*k sake this is why the country is in a state any other career is 9-5 Mon-Fri

I’ve taking two pay cuts.havnt got any rise since at 35000 I’m at top of my pay scale pay about 13% into a pension that won’t amount to much when I get to retire in 30 odd years.I’ve been hot kicked bitten in the last year I when to college too.
this shouldn’t be about a race to the bottom.

Bankers’ pay has risen about 11% in the last 3 years and TDs now have a larger expenses account seeing as they now have to account for all their expenses. But hey, you two tear strips off each other. It’s not like the government want private and public sector fighting against one another while they strip the country of its income now is it?

@nellie,35k is 670odd euro a week that’s not exactly a bad weekly wage compared to some on 360 on minimum wage..

Well said Mark, they have people fighting over public sector private sector and who paid the household charge, meanwhile they borrow billions to pay themselves bankers and bond holders .

Well did you EVER apply for a job in public service before the moratorium? Did you? God you would think that anyone with a desire to live like a king would have applied for such jobs the minute they left school or college ! Eah not so.. Virtually no school or college graduates wanted work in the public sector because the pay was so bad. Thats the public sector sector is so hard done by doesnt give anyone in PS any joy. Pity the sentiment isnt reciprocated

Indeed Michael J we need the money after all we will be paying €17 billion over to bond holders this year.