In response (5th item) to the claim that his latest pay rise would see his salary rise above that of the leaders of France, Britain and America, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said;
“I’m glad I don’t own Chequers and I don’t have No. 10, I don’t have the Elysee Palace, if you want to build those in then you would know what the figures would be and I certainly don’t want the White House.”
Only an imbecile would suggest that the leaders of France, Britain and America actually own the buildings where they work and that such ownership adds substantially to their wealth.
Only an imbecilic people would accept such a sneering and arrogant excuse from their Prime Minister.
The Irish public seems to be politically stultified. People who believe that Ahern and his ministerial cohort deserve a comparable salary to chief executives of public corporations deserve the politicians they get. Most cabinet ministers (including the Taoiseach) are not qualified to run a corner shop.
By the way there is a dead link on “In response” above
As usual, Bartholomew’s answer does not tell the whole truth. The Taoiseach does have an official residence, modernised at great (public) expense. It is just that AnorackMan has decided, as part of his PR spin, not to use this residence.
Gordon