€5335 for the Dept. of Social protection annual retired staff get together

Boombastic

No recession there:rolleyes:


Is this what the money is needed for we are taking off the carers? Filling the trough for these pigs to feast themselves?

Annasopra

So what?

A work party for some employees?

Max Power

mango salsa wrote: »

So what?

A work party for some employees?

So what?

Fuck their poxy work parties! What about the carers in this country. Boo fucking hoo if a few overpaid underworked staff don't get a night out on the piss.

Great to see where our priorities lie in this country.

Boombastic

mango salsa wrote: »

So what?

A work party for some employees?

No...

"annual retirement get-together for ex-staff members was held on 31 October.!

amacca

a ffs here we go again

pass the popcorn, no need for anything else my salty tears will flavour it

Annasopra

FionnMcCool87 wrote: »

So what?

Fuck their poxy work parties! What about the carers in this country. Boo fucking hoo if a few overpaid underworked staff don't get a night out on the piss.

Great to see where our priorities lie in this country.

5000 euros wouldnt have made up the respite grant!!!

Odysseus

mango salsa wrote: »

So what?

A work party for some employees?

+1 I concur. Though if I go to my party I pay for everything, I have not even got a x-mas drink in the 16 years I worked for the HSE. However, I have no objections to someone else.

MagicMarker

Wouldn't really have an issue with it if it was for employees, but a party for people who used to work there? That's an absolute fúcking joke tbh. Why the **** can't these people just meet up and pay for their own shíte like the rest of us?

Dubwat

In total, more than €5,000 was spent on the party

The postage for invitations sent out for the event cost just under €700.

€700 on stamps means an awful lot of people were invited. Say 1,000 people, for arguments sake...

€5k on a party for the 'old-timers' is not a big deal. €5k/1,000 people = €5/person = ~1 pint of beer. Half of them turn up = ~2 pints of beers...

Normally, I'd be fairly anti-public servants but I don't have a problem with this.

Boombastic

Dubwat wrote: »

€700 on stamps means an awful lot of people were invited. Say 1,000 people, for arguments sake...

€5k on a party for the 'old-timers' is not a big deal. €5k/1,000 people = €5/person = ~1 pint of beer. Half of them turn up = ~2 pints of beers...

Normally, I'd be fairly anti-public servants but I don't have a problem with this.

Only 240 people according to the DailyMail, Must have been some heavy invatations



And it cost €1,000 more than last year but

The department said it was ‘of course appreciative of the current economic climate’ and had tried to ‘restrict’ expenditure.

B.A._Baracus

mango salsa wrote: »

So what?

A work party for some employees?

Good god :eek:
5,000 euro spent an annual get together for people who dont ever work there anymore? ... and its tax payers money?

you seriously have no issue with this? :rolleyes:

Annasopra

No issue at all

mikemac1

Lavish party and Busáras don't quite go together

Boombastic

Compare to this in the UK

Primary school's entire governing body forced to resign after spending £6,000 of public funds on headteacher's farewell BBQ

He said: 'This was a very ill-judged decision by the governors of the school for this amount of expenditure and I think the steps which are being taken to redress the position are right.
'I think, particularly in these times, a misuse of public funds for the benefit of public servants is unjustifiable.

'It's a lesson for all schools and public bodies that money should be spent on front line services rather than celebrations.'
Mr Tansley, a former Foreign Office worker, compared the party to the 2007 Lord Levy scandal, which saw a £6,000 retirement party thrown to mark his nine years of service as Tony Blair's personal envoy in the Middle East.






With a backlog of 9,000 people waiting to be processed, some more than a year, you think they'd have more to be doing than taking people away from their duties to plan parties.

hawkelady

mango salsa wrote: »

No issue at all

Was the party any good mango?? And were the invites really snazzy???

woodoo

They always look after themselves well. They should have to pay for it themselves. We aren't getting anything paid for.

I'll tell you what would pay for the respite grant though... catching people defrauding the welfare system.

emo72

its crazy, its mental. there is no defending this. nero playing the violin while rome burns.

Mr Benevolent

mango salsa wrote: »

5000 euros wouldnt have made up the respite grant!!!

It is more than my girlfriend's welfare allowance for the entire year.

mango salsa

mango salsa wrote: »

5000 euros wouldnt have made up the respite grant!!!

It wouldn't but it's a start. What myself and others dislike about this waste of tax payers money is that is indicative of a culture of greed and entitlement that still exists within our government. While they are happy to make the worst off in society suffer they continue to treat themselves at every opportunity and then have the audacity to tell us that these cuts are necessary, yet the last people to suffer are the ones who can most afford it. I have never heard of any company organizing a yearly party for past employees, it actually beggars belief and the sooner crap like that is put to an end the better.

therealgirl

5k on a party...that's pittance compared to what they could be saving in other obvious areas...if they were capable of doing their jobs right...
....but obviously they are not capable of doing their jobs right...as anyone with half a brain would realise, "Hey spending 5k on a party...not even a Christmas party...that might not look so good...and right now, we're not looking so good, what with us cutting funds to those less fortunate and blatantly not giving a **** and all..."

emo72

its what it represents. they dont give a ****. they're already on the gravytrain, probably retired with PS pensions, and the country is being starved of money.

you like to think that someone was trying to save money in there instead of sucking every cent out of our pockets.

melekalikimaka

lot of spite here, shameful really

therealgirl

I really don't see how anyone in this country has any faith in anyone in the government actually doing the right thing. It is obvious to me, a mere mortal on this earth, that the money they earn for doing not much at all is crazy & they should cut their own wages too...I mean duh!

therealgirl

melekalikimaka wrote: »

lot of spite here, shameful really

?

Mr Benevolent

melekalikimaka wrote: »

lot of spite people unemployed here, shameful really

FYP, smugness will get you nowhere.

Odysseus

emo72 wrote: »

its crazy, its mental. there is no defending this. nero playing the violin while rome burns.

If music be the food of love, play on; TN I.I.1.

noodler

Whatever about current employees, these types of events should be funded by the Taxpayer when the country is borrowing 15bn a year.

emo72

melekalikimaka wrote: »

lot of spite here, shameful really

not spite. shock.

Itsdacraic

emo72 wrote: »

not spite. shock.

Shock? Really?

€5k out of a multi-billion euro budget.
Get over it.

emo72

Itsdacraic wrote: »

Shock? Really?

€5k out of a multi-billion euro budget.
Get over it.

they shouldnt be wasting money like that.

shock and disgust and rage. i dont have your power to laugh it off. but fair play to you.

SEPT 23 1989

parasites still on the take even in retirement

Itsdacraic

Itsdacraic wrote: »

Shock? Really?

€5k out of a multi-billion euro budget.
Get over it.

Five grand for this party but I'd imagine that the cost for all the parties the tax payer covers each year for government workers is substantially higher. Every department most likely gets a couple of grand for their party and in this day and age it simply is not on. If staff want a Christmas party then they should pay for it themselves as most people do.

Boombastic

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

parasites still on the take even in retirement

Saddest thing about this is that some people are actually defending it, as if it is grand:rolleyes:

Boombastic

Deleted User wrote: »

Five grand for this party but I'd imagine that the cost for all the parties the tax payer covers each year for government workers is substantially higher. Every department most likely gets a couple of grand for their party and in this day and age it simply is not on. If staff want a Christmas party then they should pay for it themselves as most people do.

It wasn't a Christmas party, the bill for that one hasn't come yet..

therealgirl

Boombastic wrote: »

Saddest thing about this is that some people are actually defending it, as if it is grand:rolleyes:

Sure its grand, laugh away if you haven't hit rock bottom yet due to the cuts

Boombastic

Boombastic wrote: »

It wasn't a Christmas party, the bill for that one hasn't come yet..

I know it wasn't, I was merely saying that if staff want a party be that Christmas or whatever then they should pay for it themselves.

Fromthetrees

Itsdacraic wrote: »

Shock? Really?

€5k out of a multi-billion euro budget.
Get over it.

It's public money being spent on ex staff. It exemplifies what is wrong with this country. When enough people don't 'get over it' we will have a better country to live in.

Ayyashure it's only a few squids, whattava ya haven yourself buddie. :cool:

General Relativity

Boombastic wrote: »

Saddest thing about this is that some people are actually defending it, as if it is grand:rolleyes:

The party cost 5 grand for ~250 people. Retired people. People who have paid more tax then you or I three or four times over. Get over it.

Boombastic

Fromthetrees wrote: »

.......... whattava ya haven yourself buddie. :cool:

Take a free drink there is a wide selection and don't forget to put your name in for the raffle:pac:

A total of €830 in drinks was purchased, consisting of three cases of white wine, four cases of red wine, two bottles of Jameson whiskey, a bottle of Smirnoff vodka, Bacardi rum and gin.
Trays of Guinness cans and Heineken were also laid out, with the remainder of the bill made up of water and soft drinks.
Spot prizes for the assembled guests were also provided courtesy of the taxpayer, with €1,000 spent on 18 One4all gift vouchers.

Jaysoose

General Relativity wrote: »

The party cost 5 grand for ~250 people. Retired people. People who have paid more tax then you or I three or four times over. Get over it.

Are you serious? the people dont even work there anymore and as such are entitled to absolutely nothing.

therealgirl

General Relativity wrote: »

The party cost 5 grand for ~250 people. Retired people. People who have paid more tax then you or I three or four times over. Get over it.

Oooh, that's part of what life is like when you retire after paying your taxes? Great!

emo72

^^^^havent the heart to respond to that thoughtless ****. words fail me

Boombastic

General Relativity wrote: »

The party cost 5 grand for ~250 people. Retired people. People who have paid more tax then you or I three or four times over. Get over it.

People who got payout when they retired and also probably got a party when they retired


250 people

Postage €700...that's €2.80 to frank each invitation:eek: I suppose the franking allowance is calculated in that because a stamp is only 55cent

Sully

Typical media having a pop at the government and trying to divide the people over the public sector. This is a complete non story. Headlines and content written purely to sensationalise a non-story. Is this the best the media can do to show possible ‘waste’ of public tax payers money?

Your talking about €20 per person at a Christmas Function – a norm in both the public and private sector for decades. People on here claiming their employer doesn’t bring them out or they have to pay for it themselves. I remember this during the Celtic tiger – businesses didn’t give a red cent towards their staff to say “Thanks for all the hardwork, its appreciated”. The fact is that a lot of small, medium and large businesses DO in fact pay towards Christmas parties. Restaurants and Pubs rely massively on the income from staff parties such as these, especially during these hard economic times. This scope also includes public sector parties – although to a lesser degree or with much less funding.

This party would have had a large number of people on a low salary. Don’t immediately think it was high flying public sector workers raking it in with high wages and high expenses. These people at the party would have been people on the ground dealing with the public on a daily basis. I wouldn’t begrudge any person being paid a certain amount towards their Christmas party – public or private. Within reason of course. I think what was spent is a drop in the ocean and is hardly breaking the bank or a deal breaker towards budget cuts.

There is far bigger financial wastage in the public sector than a 5k Christmas Function for a few hundred staff members who have got themselves a job and work hard it.

This is a once-a year/once-off payment. Its not going to save child benefit, carers cuts and so on. Its a tiny amount. Very small. I'm all for efficient and proper use of tax payers money but this is nothing. Media having a field day as people get talking about those pesky civil servants and their entitlements - forgetting that its the norm across the private sector which is funded by those who pay for the products/services (ie citizens of Ireland).

Complete non story when we could be making headlines about our TDs expenses and how cuts to that could have saved the cut across social welfare. That's considerably higher than a pesky €20 a head function by the Dept. of Social Protection.

Odysseus

That is not bad value actually, drinks for 250 people cost 830e that works out at 3.32e each.

JustAddWater

Itsdacraic wrote: »

Shock? Really?

€5k out of a multi-billion euro budget.
Get over it.

NO! Just 1 instance of countless inefficiencies costing €5k. Plenty plenty more. €5k would pay a gaurd or 2's wages for 1 month

They all add up and the government should not be seen to be throwing parties with our money while telling us they're broke

There's no ****ing pleasing some people. Anyone would be bashed here for having no job, complaining of being broke and having no money for a 2nd holiday and yet have SKY HD and an Xbox etc... In other words people who complain about being broke yet live the highlife get bashed here

When the government do it day in day out, people that are OK with that?

Double standards

General Relativity

Jaysoose wrote: »

Are you serious? the people dont even work there anymore and as such are entitled to absolutely nothing.

Except the department think they are, and thus spend 5000 a year of their budget on them.

emo72

in my job we cant really afford to pay for a christmas drink, and we havent for a few years. its about helping the company survive.

a few of us lads will go out for a few pints on friday and buy our own drink. we do it because we want to. and we are happy to pay for ourselves.

why cant they do it?

Boombastic

Sully wrote: »

Typical media having a pop at the government and trying to divide the people over the public sector. This is a complete non story. Headlines and content written purely to sensationalise a non-story. Is this the best the media can do to show possible ‘waste’ of public tax payers money?

€1,000 more spent this year than last year, in times of austerity, no it's not a non story

50 peoples house hold charge
15 carers cut at €325

Sully wrote: »

Your talking about €20 per person at a Christmas Function – a norm in both the public and private sector for decades. People on here claiming their employer doesn’t bring them out or they have to pay for it themselves. I remember this during the Celtic tiger – businesses didn’t give a red cent towards their staff to say “Thanks for all the hardwork, its appreciated”. The fact is that a lot of small, medium and large businesses DO in fact pay towards Christmas parties. Restaurants and Pubs rely massively on the income from staff parties such as these, especially during these hard economic times. This scope also includes public sector parties – although to a lesser degree or with much less funding.

No your not, we are talking about a department, with a serious backlog and budget deficit shelling out money for ex-staff members to stick their noses int he through

Sully wrote: »

This party would have had a large number of people on a low salary. Don’t immediately think it was high flying public sector workers raking it in with high wages and high expenses. These people at the party would have been people on the ground dealing with the public on a daily basis. I wouldn’t begrudge any person being paid a certain amount towards their Christmas party – public or private. Within reason of course. I think what was spent is a drop in the ocean and is hardly breaking the bank or a deal breaker towards budget cuts.

I think maybe you should read the article

Sully wrote: »

There is far bigger financial wastage in the public sector than a 5k Christmas Function for a few hundred staff members who have got themselves a job and work hard it.

Again read the article, until then I won't be reading the rest of your post

therealgirl

Sully wrote: »

Typical media having a pop at the government and trying to divide the people over the public sector. This is a complete non story. Headlines and content written purely to sensationalise a non-story. Is this the best the media can do to show possible ‘waste’ of public tax payers money?

Your talking about €20 per person at a Christmas Function – a norm in both the public and private sector for decades. People on here claiming their employer doesn’t bring them out or they have to pay for it themselves. I remember this during the Celtic tiger – businesses didn’t give a red cent towards their staff to say “Thanks for all the hardwork, its appreciated”. The fact is that a lot of small, medium and large businesses DO in fact pay towards Christmas parties. Restaurants and Pubs rely massively on the income from staff parties such as these, especially during these hard economic times. This scope also includes public sector parties – although to a lesser degree or with much less funding.

This party would have had a large number of people on a low salary. Don’t immediately think it was high flying public sector workers raking it in with high wages and high expenses. These people at the party would have been people on the ground dealing with the public on a daily basis. I wouldn’t begrudge any person being paid a certain amount towards their Christmas party – public or private. Within reason of course. I think what was spent is a drop in the ocean and is hardly breaking the bank or a deal breaker towards budget cuts.

There is far bigger financial wastage in the public sector than a 5k Christmas Function for a few hundred staff members who have got themselves a job and work hard it.

This is a once-a year/once-off payment. Its not going to save child benefit, carers cuts and so on. Its a tiny amount. Very small. I'm all for efficient and proper use of tax payers money but this is nothing. Media having a field day as people get talking about those pesky civil servants and their entitlements - forgetting that its the norm across the private sector which is funded by those who pay for the products/services (ie citizens of Ireland).

Complete non story when we could be making headlines about our TDs expenses and how cuts to that could have saved the cut across social welfare. That's considerably higher than a pesky €20 a head function by the Dept. of Social Protection.

I think it's more the point of it looking bloody bad for them to be throwing parties at a time when they have made some silly budget decisions...decisions that have angered people...not the fact it came to €20 a head...they could at least look like they give a toss.

aujopimur

General Relativity wrote: »

The party cost 5 grand for ~250 people. Retired people. People who have paid more tax then you or I three or four times over. Get over it.

I paid tax and PRSI for 45 years, and I was'nt invited to the party.