Crazy allowances or perks

Idbatterim

It never ends! I hear about all this talk of the bereavement grant being axed, here is an idea (example), put aside the staggering sum of E5 a week and if you retire at 65 and die at 80, you will have E3900 ex interest... Im sure those waiting in the wings for the inheritance (in most cases) can stump up a few thousand if not...

chopper6

Idbatterim wrote: »

I just came across this gem!

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/government-accused-of-telling-us-to-shop-around-for-cheaper-funeral-29702238.html

Have you ever had a family member die?

No amount of money is going to console you or bring them back.

Sickening.

Idbatterim

Have you ever had a family member die?

No amount of money is going to console you or bring them back.

Sickening.

yes I have, only my grandmother who I would deem close family in fairness, and Im sure sadly it will be more in the future. Do these payments exist in other countries does anyone know?

The problem here is its only a few euro here, a few euro there, funny the figure that counts is the €20,000,000,000, sure then again thats only €20,000,000,000...

chopper6

Idbatterim wrote: »

yes I have, only my grandmother who I would deem close family in fairness, and Im sure sadly it will be more in the future. Do these payments exist in other countries does anyone know?

Hopefully.

It used to be called a Moral Conscience...and the idea of begrudging a grieving spouse a grand a month when companies like Google are paying the country a ****ing pittance in tax is,quite frankly disgusting.

spank_inferno

I will wager my mortgage it was a FF government that brought this in.

spank_inferno

D1976 wrote: »

You're first post on boards.ie for that it's €7.70 a week who cares. I'd be more annoyed by this

http://www.thejournal.ie/tds-expenses-2012-779113-Feb2013/

Independent TD for Kerry South, Michael Healy-Rae, is the next highest claimant at €62,806 – though again, he is the only TD who lives between 330km and 360km from Leinster House.

This "whataboutety" is a weak defense of any pork-barrel spending people wish to ignore.

snubbleste

spank_inferno wrote: »

I will wager my mortgage it was a FF government that brought this in.

I'm pretty sure it was a Fine Gael–Labour Party government in early 1977
How much is your mortgage?

spank_inferno

snubbleste wrote: »

I'm pretty sure it was a Fine Gael–Labour Party government in early 1977
How much is your mortgage?

Aha!....

Its paying for a house now 1/3 the value of the mortgage!

I'll mail you the keys!

snubbleste

spank_inferno wrote: »

Aha!....
Its paying for a house now 1/3 the value of the mortgage!
I'll mail you the keys!

In that case, I'm most uncertain of which party introduced the LAA.

Idbatterim

THE IRISH ASSOCIATION of Funeral Directors (IAFD) has branded as “disgusting” today’s scrapping of the bereavement grant for families to cover funeral costs.
The Bereavement Grant is a one-off payment of €850 made available on the death of a family member. Eligibility is not related to an ability to pay for the funeral but is based on PRSI contributions, meaning it is payable to the vast majority of citizens.
Graham Gleasure of the IAFD has said that they will be talking to the Government with the hope of persuading them to reverse their decision to scrap the payment.

Disgusting, the same as their price gouging, I can only imagine the cartel like way in which they operate...

http://www.thejournal.ie/bereavement-grant-cut-1130026-Oct2013/

Flex

chopper6 wrote: »

Hopefully.

It used to be called a Moral Conscience...and the idea of begrudging a grieving spouse a grand a month when companies like Google are paying the country a ****ing pittance in tax is,quite frankly disgusting.

"keep all the welfare benefits and so on, but make sure someone else pays for them"

166man

woodoo wrote: »

9 to 6 is factory hours. Most private sector office jobs i know are 9 to 5 with an hour for lunch (which is a 35 hr week). The public service are now doing a 37 hour week. I would be hoping that when things get back to normality in the country, that the unions start pushing to get back to the 35 hour week as a priority.

Care to explain why?

Mr. teddywinkles

kceire wrote: »

Cheques are cashed in banks. Banks = private sector.
Don't think the PS do 35 hours anymore, more like the standard 35-39 excluding lunches.


My brother works for a large MNC. He travels around for work. They pay him over night stays etc if he is working outside of Dublin. When he has work in Meath, Wicklow or any other surrounding county he gets 127e and that's meant to pay for a room for the night and an evening meal. He just pockets it and drives down a bit earlier in the morning.

My mate works for a drinks company. They get an internal wallet that allows them free drink every month. He comes home with trays or orange, monster, mi-wadi every week!

Don't hear too much about perks anymore as people are afraid to openly talk about them with the way spitefullness has gone in our country since the recession hit.

again don't see how this has anything to do with the taxpayer

srsly78

Because his mate is dodging taxes by creaming expenses. From what kceire has outlined the unvouched expenses his mate is claiming are way over the allowable figures. It won't stand up to audit and his mate/employer will have to pay it all back with interest and penalties.

I claim similar expenses when I fly abroad, the other guy claims the same for a short trip up the road. I got plane tickets to back me up at audit, the other guy has nothing!

When you read about the Revenue cracking down on travel+subsistence the shenanigans outlined above are exactly what they are referring to.

Katya

Subsidised childcare for NON working families. It's €55 per week in my local childcare facility 8-5. I can't see the rational for this without a requirement to work at least a few hours per week. I'd love to see the p60 of a family getting this allowance plus rent allowance plus the normal payments.

Idbatterim

Why the hell if they arent working, are they getting subsidized childcare?

antoobrien

D1976 wrote: »

I'd be more annoyed by this

http://www.thejournal.ie/tds-expenses-2012-779113-Feb2013/

Independent TD for Kerry South, Michael Healy-Rae, is the next highest claimant at €62,806 – though again, he is the only TD who lives between 330km and 360km from Leinster House.

D1976, you shouldn't be annoyed by this at all as he's in line with other TDs that are from large constituencies that are a long way from Dublin. I'd be more worried that someone representing somewhere as small (relatively) and as near to Leinster House as Kildare South is only 9k behind him (see the spreadsheet attached to the article, Martin Heydon claimed 53,806).

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

There is also accommodation to consider, but this is clearly taking advantage of a system that is probably not regulated at all. Are they made hand in receipts I wonder?

Labour minister Ruairi Quinn changed from the unvouched system to the vouched model for January – only to move back from February onwards, after realising that the vouched model would cost taxpayers slightly more.

Scortho

Idbatterim wrote: »

Why the hell if they arent working, are they getting subsidized childcare?

So they can go out and find jobs.
Then when they get a job start paying tax etc. They somehow have to find money to pay childcare.
Unless it's seriously well paid, their probably better off not working.
Yay ireland.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

Geuze

Total Exceptional Needs Payments = 62m in 2011

Adult clothing = 7m

Prams/buggies = 1m

and so on..............

See table C18 here:

http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Annual-SWS-Statistical-Information-Report---2012.aspx

PDF here:

http://www.welfare.ie/en/downloads/Social%20Stats%20AR%202012_Section%20C.pdf



NB: I don't think all of these are "crazy".

I just want to clarify that they do exist.

Some people keep arguing that grants are not paid for "buggies/prams", etc.

They are, and the DSP publish the details. See attached.

Geuze

Total Exceptional Needs Payments = 62m in 2011

Adult clothing = 7m

Prams/buggies = 1m

and so on..............

See table C18 here:

http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Annual-SWS-Statistical-Information-Report---2012.aspx


PDF here:
http://www.welfare.ie/en/downloads/Social%20Stats%20AR%202012_Section%20C.pdf


NB: I don't think all of these are "crazy".

I just want to clarify that they do exist.

Some people keep arguing that grants are not paid for "buggies/prams", etc.

They are, and the DSP publish the details. See attached.

K-9

Geuze wrote: »

I just want to clarify that they do exist.

Some people keep arguing that grants are not paid for "buggies/prams", etc.

I don't think many claim that the payments don't exist, it's the myth about leaving buggies at bus stops because people can just get another one from CWO that gets challenged.

murphaph

Geuze wrote: »

NB: I don't think all of these are "crazy".

I just want to clarify that they do exist.

Some people keep arguing that grants are not paid for "buggies/prams", etc.

They are, and the DSP publish the details. See attached.

...and it is NOT an urban myth that many of these buggies are left at bus stops when the bus is full. If Ireland had massive oil wealth like Norway some of these payments would still be excessive, but we're p!ss poor so there's no excuse.

Is there a "taxpayers' association" in Ireland? There is in Germany. They lobby the government to reduce such spending.

Idbatterim

is there a list of the max they give out for a buggy, washing machine etc for example?

K-9

murphaph wrote: »

...and it is NOT an urban myth that many of these buggies are left at bus stops when the bus is full. If Ireland had massive oil wealth like Norway some of these payments would still be excessive, but we're p!ss poor so there's no excuse.

Is there a "taxpayers' association" in Ireland? There is in Germany. They lobby the government to reduce such spending.

Probably more that it happened a couple of times and takes on legendary status!

It's €1 Million, that would be 5,000 cases at €200 a go, the payment also covers cots and stuff like that.

creedp

K-9 wrote: »

Probably more that it happened a couple of times and takes on legendary status!

It's €1 Million, that would be 5,000 cases at €200 a go, the payment also covers cots and stuff like that.

There seems to be a popular consensus that SW needs reforming but at least it seems there is nothing to see here when it comes to buggy allowance costing €1m a year.

Damien360

K-9 wrote: »

I don't think many claim that the payments don't exist, it's the myth about leaving buggies at bus stops because people can just get another one from CWO that gets challenged.

Not a myth at all. Ask the lads working on the rail platforms of Newbridge and Kildare stations. It was very regular for buggys to be left as you could get another. We were buying ours at the time and I asked in the shop that was there before mothercare in Newbridge and they said the same. Often got the same people back every few weeks for another free buggy.

Idbatterim

Not a myth at all. Ask the lads working on the rail platforms of Newbridge and Kildare stations. It was very regular for buggys to be left as you could get another. We were buying ours at the time and I asked in the shop that was there before mothercare in Newbridge and they said the same. Often got the same people back every few weeks for another free buggy.

This is the problem when you give stuff out for free, nothing is respected... Let them get them for free from charity shops...

K-9

Damien360 wrote: »

Not a myth at all. Ask the lads working on the rail platforms of Newbridge and Kildare stations. It was very regular for buggys to be left as you could get another. We were buying ours at the time and I asked in the shop that was there before mothercare in Newbridge and they said the same. Often got the same people back every few weeks for another free buggy.

What story where they giving the Welfare officer?

I'd say it happened, but it seems everybody working in Irish Rail and Dublin Bus knows somebody who did it. The story has grown a few legs in other words!

cmore123

The very definition of "expenses" refers to a cost you directly incur. Thus, unvouched expense payment should never be permitted especially in the public or political service. Nor should an expense allowance be paid. If you incur expenses you should have a receipt. If you reclaim less than others it just means you didn't incur the extra in the first place.

What politicians get away with is criminal.

Yet we still vote for them..........!

srsly78

Nonsense, having to hold on to every single receipt is a load of rubbish. I tried that and after one month I had filled an entire drawer with the damn things. It's much simpler in many cases to operate the Revenue approved flat-rate expenses.

But for politicians, yes definitely make them provide receipts

Idbatterim

give them a business credit or visa debit card, everything is to be put on that, nothing can be claimed for that isnt...

Gumbo

srsly78 wrote: »

Nonsense, having to hold on to every single receipt is a load of rubbish. I tried that and after one month I had filled an entire drawer with the damn things. It's much simpler in many cases to operate the Revenue approved flat-rate expenses.

But for politicians, yes definitely make them provide receipts

We claim our mileage once a month, so you could claim your expences once a month too. ie mileage and expences incurred in October are submitted on the 1st November for payment in November.

Very easy to have a dedicated lever arch folder for claims and separate it by month with those colourful dividers. especially for kepping receipts.

srsly78

Milage has it's own special rules, you need to keep detailed records. For subsistence it's not worth the hassle keeping receipts for your centra roll etc, just use flat-rate. Being self-employed lets you decide which way to administer expenses, normal employees don't have a choice. Your boss probably won't let you use flat-rate because it would work out in your favour

When I do have receipts they are in electronic form and get kept in email/dropbox. No paper needed!

Sleepy

Interesting figures in that for funerals

Funeral
Funeral Expenses 5,116 4,836 -5.5%
Burial Expenses 370 332

What are the other costs aside from that of burial?

An I missing something or is the figure for Funeral Expenses that's 13/14 times the cost of the burial being paid to the church, the local florist, the local publican etc.? I've no issue with an exceptional needs payment being granted to cover the cost of burying the dead but taxpayers money being given in "donations" to religious institutions, spent on extravagant stonework / flowers or covering the bar-tab after the service isn't exactly acceptable even if it is probably very unpopular to point it out.

Maybe I'm being thick and missing something very obvious here as I've never arranged a funeral but the figures just seem odd to me.

srsly78

Booze and sangwiches in pub afterwards.

skydish79

Benefit in Kind - abused

K-9

Sleepy wrote: »

Interesting figures in that for funerals


What are the other costs aside from that of burial?

An I missing something or is the figure for Funeral Expenses that's 13/14 times the cost of the burial being paid to the church, the local florist, the local publican etc.? I've no issue with an exceptional needs payment being granted to cover the cost of burying the dead but taxpayers money being given in "donations" to religious institutions, spent on extravagant stonework / flowers or covering the bar-tab after the service isn't exactly acceptable even if it is probably very unpopular to point it out.

Maybe I'm being thick and missing something very obvious here as I've never arranged a funeral but the figures just seem odd to me.

The average cost of a funeral in Donegal is €3/4,000, that would be coffin, plot, grave diggers, wooden cross, undertaker costs, stuff like that.

I don't think you'll have much luck burying somebody without an undertaker and coffin, so funeral expenses looks like the usual cost of burying somebody. I don't know what burial costs are in addition to funeral expenses.

Cookie_Monster

30 mins paid drinking time every friday with free beer, chips & dips and sometimes cocktails

Riskymove

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

30 mins paid drinking time every friday with free beer, chips & dips and sometimes cocktails

no..no...this is about "crazy" perks

chopper6

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

30 mins paid drinking time every friday with free beer, chips & dips and sometimes cocktails

Who gets this then?

srsly78

People that work for profitable companies with (really) generous bosses.

chopper6

srsly78 wrote: »

People that work for profitable companies with (really) generous bosses.

Nothing wrong with boosting staff morale...the PS dept i work for literally cancelled the xmas party(for which we'd hafta pay anyway).

Michael D Not Higgins

chopper6 wrote: »

Nothing wrong with boosting staff morale...the PS dept i work for literally cancelled the xmas party(for which we'd hafta pay anyway).

If you have to pay anyway, organise your own party. That's what we had to do where I used to work.

rumour

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

This to me is the craziest of all perks for a country that has to tax excessively and borrow excessively to exist, direct from the CSO

2012 Q4
Average Public Sector Weekly Wage €921.99
Average Private Sector Weekly Wage €623.43

Add to that;
Public Sector Pensions are not accounted for in weekly wage.
Private Sector must pay for a pension out of weekly wage.

These two issues are the craziest perks ever developed by the Irish Public Sector based on not much more that something like "because I'm worth it"

Icepick

€188 paid to long-term unemployed
Should be €100 and only if you are making effort to retrain or find a job.

Cookie_Monster

chopper6 wrote: »

Who gets this then?

me

granted it is private company but just putting it out there for comparison since it seems to be only PS again in the thread.

Sheldons Brain

2012 Q4
Average Public Sector Weekly Wage €921.99
Average Private Sector Weekly Wage €623.43

Out of date data.

Add to that;

Public Sector Pensions are not accounted for in weekly wage.

Oh right, what about pension contributions and the pension levy?

rumour

If that is a retort its pretty lame.

The average public sector wage is 1.5 times the wage of the average private sector person. When these are on a par maybe we could consider it not a perk.

The pension levy goes no where near what needs to be done to fund the entitlements the public sector have promised themselves in the future.

You say they are out of date, what are the up to date figures, how much have they changed in the last 3 quarters?

bar32

Just for the record. Payslip of a primary teacher. 4 years teaching.
Gross annual pay 36,738

Gross fortnightly pay: 1413
Net fortnightly pay: 1009

Statutory Deductions per fortnight:
Tax :133
Employers PRSI : 57
1.5% SP. & CH - Pen : 22
USC : 73
Pension Related Deduction: 74
Pension - Grouped: 38

Non - Statutory Deductions per fortnight:
INTO Union : 14

I've heard this often before but just want to see if it's true, does someone in Private Sector on roughly 37000 take home much more net pay per week? Net pay of this particular teacher is 505 a week. What would a private sector person's gross salary have to be to earn 500 net per week?