Sinn Fein Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has said the government must act with haste to deal with bankers’ pay following the publication of the Mercer Report, which the Taoiseach informed him this morning, will be within two weeks.
Deputy Doherty said: “We are waiting since June last year for this report and it is more than two years since this government came to office on a promise of dealing with the high levels of bankers’ remuneration. Today the Taoiseach finally confirmed to me that the report will be published in the next two weeks.
“I am urging the government to act speedily following this report. In a matter of weeks it can decide to cut hundreds of millions from low and middle paid frontline public sector workers, yet when it comes to bankers’ pay, we have years of procrastination. This has to stop.
“While fire-fighters, nurses, guards and teachers are all expected to vote on more cuts to their already diminished pay packets, the senior bankers who contributed to the economic crisis have spent much of the last two years barely touched. I revealed in November that 27 bankers were still earning over €500,000 per annum and 3,000 in total were earning over €100,000.
“I hope the Mercer report has been worth the wait and I would urge the government to respond with haste on bankers’ pay. The public demand and deserve nothing less.”
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