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IRELAND HAS one of the largest gaps between high and low earners of any EU member state, figures published this morning suggest.
Data from the EU’s statistics agency, Eurostat, shows that a significantly higher proportion of Ireland’s workforce are classified as ‘low-wage earners’ than the average for either the EU or the Eurozone.
Low-wage earners are defined as those whose hourly pay is less than two-thirds of the median national hourly wage – a system which is less susceptible to being skewed by a large proportion of higher earners.
20.7 per cent of Irish workers fall into this bracket – well ahead of the Eurozone average of 14.8 per cent, and the EU’s average of 17.0 per cent.
In Ireland, people earning below €12.20 an hour are considered as falling below the low-wage threshold.
Only two Eurozone countries have a higher proportion of low-wage earners: Germany, at 22.2 per cent, and Estonia at 23.8 per cent.
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This figure is skewed because of high public service pay. Sorry but it’s a fact. Even the IMF commented on it yesterday, singling out teachers, medical staff and low skilled public service workers – assume this last category refers to our esteemed politicians
Good one re the politicians.
There’s a myth that public service workers get paid the equivalent of a Swiss bank.
I got paid today for 2 weeks over which I worked 120hrs (60hrs each week). I took home €912.68.
I would actually be better off on Social Welfare.
We’re talking averages James. Why is it that the lower paid PS get up in arms when someone says PS pay is too high? New nurses on 22k pa could hardly be described as over paid. Teachers starting on 38k in 2010 WERE overpaid. New ones have to do with 27k now – talk about pulling the ladder up are ye lads
Nearly a thousand euro for two weeks, James Connolly? Oh, you’re being ironic saying you’d be better paid on social welfare?
How’s about a link to the Eurostat report?
Oh James is married with 3 children and in receipt of rent allowance he’d be much better off on the dole. Much better. And he’d also have Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket aka The Medical Card
So we should lower some people’s pay because it is skewing figures that show that other people are low paid?
I’m on €55,000 a year. I might if I’m lucky see €30,000 of that (after I claim overpaid tax back). Today, and it is representative of my overall salary, I paid 58% to PRD, USC, Tax, PRSI, 2 pensions. (I don’t know what pensions they are, but I’m paying into them like crazy).
I’m a nurse, I don’t pay union fees, however any certification I have to pay for various courses (ACLS, BLS, ABA registration, refresher courses) I don’t get anything back for any of it.
912.68 divided by 120hrs is: €7.60 per hour.
I’m not minted, I’m a hard worker and every time I see my wage spoken about like as if it is the property of someone else, and that you are doing me a favour by paying me at all, I think of the wage I could earning had I stayed in the States (twice as much on the public system and its as high as you can go in private work).
I’m sorry that you feel I’m a wasteful resource, but I work for every goddam penny I earn, and I work harder and longer than most people will ever work in the private sector.
EWTD? If a private company breaks those rules it is fined to the hilt.
The state breaks this every day of the week, get away with it, and make it financially worthless for us to work, even more so than had we only worked our contracted hours.
No Ciaran. We should lower some people’s pay because they’re paid way more than the European norm, because public sector pay averages 900 per week versus 600 per week in the private sector, but most of all, because we can’t afford to pay the PS the wages they are getting
@James. I’m not talking about nurses. Let’s start with Enda Kenny’s 200k and move on to the CEO of bord failte on 168k who “is entitled to retire at 55″. Then CEOs of all Quangos, county managers and fire chiefs
James, on a thread here two Weeks ago, you said you were a Doctor.. The thread was in relation to respite care cuts.
The truth is, the most recent budget was the most regressive budget in Irish history. It impacted the least well off in our society by 4 times in percentage terms compared to those earning over 100k. It is totally disgusting and the government parties will digger the backlash at the earliest opportunity.
My comment is representative of your original post. But while you want to compare like with like what are the percentage workers in public and private sector with third level degrees? Bearing in mind that all teachers, nurses and doctors have at least a level 8 degree and that many other vacancies in the PS require at least leaving cert.
@James
I don’t think in any developed country you could expect to have much more in take-home pay, based on a gross income of €55,000. I agree that the marginal rate of income tax is probably a few percentage points too high – but the average rate (all income taxes paid divided by all income) in Ireland compares remarkably well to other countries – even still – thanks to very generous tax-free allowances. This is particularly true for those earning less than €40,000 but really is valid at all incomes.
As it stands, your comment is probably very hurtful not only to those on social welfare but also to those earning considerably less than you – which is the majority of income earners in this country. You may not realise it but on your salary, you are one of the lucky ones.
Just curious James, why did you do 60 hours a week? Do you not get overtime for this? I don’t like normal workers on either public or private side arguing however I’m private sector and don’t get overtime and company can basically do what they want to us. My equivillant worker in the public sector gets about 50% more starting off and always has! Everyone argues their point but it is the inefficiencies that need to be tackled and recognition that roles don’t exist any more and some of the workers are not worth their salt – this is generally not applicable to frontline workers.
Cal1, I’ve just gone back to that thread – not me – another James Connolly, I did comment on it, but I didn’t say I was a doctor.
I’m aware of that, but the point is that it’s not even those who are over €100k, it’s those who are doing jobs in offices that nobody knows what they do.
Somebody on social welfare has access to supports, I don’t. I don’t get rent allowance, or family supplement income, or medical cards, nothing.
My solution – sack everybody, knock everything, start again. Hire people on a need basis, build on a need basis, not an obligation basis.
I get paid overtime, but I usually pay enough tax to negate it and then some.
@ Ronan you make it sound like James happened upon his job as if by chance. Like he won the lottery or something.
Paddy, I work overtime because the EWTD is ignored by the state.
I’m lucky – NCHD’s work an average 70-80hrs which is dangerous to say the least. I at least get to go home at the end of (most) days.
Interestingly, you are taxed a lot. If we lowered your taxes would that make your life any easier?
@Ciaran
You say: “@ Ronan you make it sound like James happened upon his job as if by chance. Like he won the lottery or something.”
I’ve no idea how you read that from the thread. At no point did I question his career, professionalism or skills. I was responding to someone on €55,000 – independent on how much they deserve it – a year stating:
“I would actually be better off on Social Welfare.”
If anything, James makes it sound like being on Social Welfare is like winning a lottery. This is, I would think, very hurtful to the hundreds of thousands of people in this country who are dependent on social welfare and would happily take work for half the salary James earns.
Sounds like a management issue James but if people keep working crazy hours then why would they change things. Also min wage is on gross salary. Not trying to argue but there are a lot of people worse off than 55k a year!
If the tax rate was lowered on overtime then it would make me happier to work instead of feeling used and abused.
Ronan, welfare is a support, it’s not intended to be an income. It’s designed to get you through a few weeks (I know that many are on a lot longer than that, but that’s why proper reform is needed across the board).
Paddy, people on the minimum wage aren’t working 60hrs a week average, they’re not getting taxed heavily, they’re entitled to medical cards, they’re entitled to family income support.
Instead of talking about us like we are a burden, how about reform that would make our jobs easier and in turn, maybe we might not mind taking a hit. But right now, it feels like we are a burden to society, we can’t get job satisfaction because the system is not designed to be used practically, and we pay through the nose time and time and time again in taxes, and USC’s, and hear people say that we’re not paying enough, here’s more tax just for you.
Sinabhfuil, out of that 1000 take mortgage, medical, refuse and all the other freebies that social welfare recipients like to keep quiet
@ Ronan. Apologies I read your comment “you are one of the lucky ones” and thought you were suggesting that James was “lucky” to have a job. As in luckier than someone who doesn’t. As if luck was the deciding factor instead of the life choices he made the education he attained and the hard work he has put in. Lucky indeed.
I find it a bit ridiculous to compare 30k take home to social welfare of 9.7k p/a flat rate with a statement of “id nearly be better off”. I will assume youre using the flat rate and youre leaving out people with a medical card, or, people that are single parents,or, people on any other extras, as that would then be the same as somebody making a sweeping comparison between your pay and somebody that recieves more or the most pay in the P.S.
Many get paid extras on social welfare and many get less than the flat rate in the same way that there are many on lower and much higher wages than 30k, so, I would think at the bottom end of the P.S people have absolutely no difficulty in living life compared with somebody at the bottom end of the social welfare on say 5-6k p/a, well..life cant be easy never mind fun! The top earner on the dole with all the ‘perks’ you can think of does not come anywhere near to the way of life the the P.S fat cats enjoy.
This leaves me in doubt as to wether youd nearly be better off at all, in any way, shape or form,I would even go as far as to say that I think it would be quite the opposite. Id imagine life would be pretty crap, more stress, more anxiety, depression, and without even the slightest hint of the thought; “sure whats the point of working and taking home 30k when im on these 9.7k riches, its only 20…..k…more….”
Its fantasy to make a correlation with P.S pay and the life on the dole but also be-littling to the many that live with much less.. Compared with Europe using OECD figures, we have average numbers of P.S workers, low hours and a high total pay bill, so all in all we get less productivity for our buck and somebody,or many people, somewhere within is/are getting paid way too much for doing very little. We’re broke and it is only fair to expect at least average input from the P.S and im sure many work hard and clearly many don’t but it looks more like the frontline staff carry the flag of hours worked for the throngs that take it nice and easy.
But here it is; the moment of ‘Eureka’ type proportions… now I understand why this is, whats the point of working when clearly, you would nearly be….. better… off.. on the dole! Yep, it all makes perfect sense!
I find it hard to believe someone who’s salary is €55K vs. my €35K, some how works twice the hours and comes out with €100 less in a net paycheck…
I call shenanigans…
Man, i didnt even see that rant comin.. Sorry!! Theres only one thing for it, im off to look at some pictures of puppies or the likes
Forgetting your profession you must be the only person in the country that’d be better off on social welfare than on €55k p/a. Put up a poll on that and see what most people would rather be on. 2 pensions is your choice etc, your not gonna get that on social welfare. Basic hourly rate for 39 hour week is over €27 per hour, more than a lot of people get.
On the other hand I think cutting nurses pay is crazy, they work mental hours and it’s not the safest job in public hospitals.
Andrew, because I fall within the higher rate, my OT is taxed at that rate, (42% of OT gone), add to that the USC is 7%, PRSI is 4%.
Add to that, PRD & 2 pensions (which I have no say in – these are deducted automatically), which I have no idea how the rates are being calculated, but I’m paying hundreds in to each.
In terms of being better off on SW, yes actually, what you have to remember is that in order for me to be able to rock up to work I have to keep all of my certifications current, registrations and memberships – this costs thousands per year, and I am responsible for those costs.
Add to that the fact that my job certainly isn’t doing my health the best.
I know I’m lucky to have a job, I’m not trying to belittle others, but the point is that we are paying. People tend to see the figure, and forget that we pay tax, we work exceptionally hard, we work in a system that was never fit for purpose, we have employment costs so that we can quite literally turn up to work.
I apologise if I’ve caused anyone offence, but it’s not all rosy up at the higher scales either.
@ Scrap Croke Park 1- Couldn’t help but notice you singled out teachers there by pointing to the IMF report. Agreed, teachers started off on good wages back in the day. However, I can tell you that I have looked at jobs in the UK where I would be doing the same job for more months in the year but with less hours in the classroom per annum, more opportunities for career progression, a similar level of job security and recognition of the posts of responsibility I carry out here for free. All for pretty much the same money. However, I would come out with more due to the lower levels of deductions and better services than I would get here. The cost of living in this country, particularly in the Dublin area is astronomical compared to the European norms, hence why wages are higher in both public and private sector compared to the European average. Our higher paid public servants and public representatives should be the focus of this scrutiny, not ordinary workers.
@Mark. Top of the scale in central London a teacher earns £36k sterling. That’s top of the scale
Over here it’s €60k plus all the allowances.
So if u think u get paid same or more, go
And nurses here next year will be starting out on €27k p/a, someone might correct me :)
In London they start on £37k, was on the radio this morning. So goodbye all our newly qualified nurses, hope London treats you well :)
Precisely.
Although I would add, even if there was a pay cut involved I’d take it – the quality of life is infinitely better than here, the system works better, and work-life balance is better.
@Scrap Croke Park 1- I’d be at the top end of the salary scale plus have the living in London allowance as well as a post of responsibility. Here I am co-ordinator of 3 departments and don’t get pay or recognition for this. If I was in the UK, I’d be on a leadership scale which would add to my salary and put me on the path to Head of Faculty, Deputy Head or Head Teacher. My wife would walk into a job having being one of the 3, 300 job losses in education since Jan ’09. I am on nowhere near 60k a year. As for going, it’s a possibility. But you know, family and all that. By the way, a guy I know who works in financial services with 4 years experience and no 3rd level qualifications took great pleasure in telling me that he’s earning more money than me despite my 8 years experience and 2 postgraduate qualifications. But I’m still overpaid right?
@Mark. The IMF thinks so. Doesn’t amount to a hill of beans what I think. If you do go I suspect we’re losing a good one. Good luck to you sir, and your good lady, whatever you choose to do
Scrap, we’ve been through this before to some extent, but I think you’re a more than a little blinkered when it comes to income inequality and the public sector.
Sure, there are many highly paid public servants, but there are also many clerical officers etc, who need to increment up for a decade to make the average industrial wage. Also, the high paid public servants do difficult and demanding jobs – by way of reference point, Enda Kenny could make more if he quit being Taoiseach and became a senior partner in a big corporate law firm. Equally, most of our “overpaid” judges could expect to make twice or possibly three times as much if they went back to working as Senior Counsel.
I personally think that a third tax band should kick in at €100k/€125k, effecting both public and private, and the proceeds put in to education, infrastructural development, microfinance and lending to small businesses, etc., the kinds of things that create more and better employment.
And before anyone chimes in with the usual spiel, this is nothing to do with “punishing” the wealthy, but everything to do with the fact that income and wealth inequality is bad for the economy as a whole.
The IMF has also finally admitted that reducing inequality and promoting sustainable growth are “two sides of the same coin,”:
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2011/sdn1108.pdf
Exclusively focusing your attention on high earners in the public sector means that you miss the point entirely.
And before anyone chimes in with the usual spiel, this is nothing to do with “punishing” the wealthy, but everything to do with the fact that income and wealth inequality is bad for the economy as a whole.
Voodoo you have hit the nail on the head.
its a proven fact that economies with the least wealth disparity make for better societies for example:
“The big idea is that what matters in determining mortality and health in a society is less the overall wealth of that society and more how evenly that wealth is distributed. The more equally wealth is distributed the better the health of that society.”
Babies born in the USA (the least equal developed nation apart from Singapore) are twice as likely to die in their first year than babies in Japan (the most equal developed nation), and life expectancy in Sweden (fourth most equal) is three years greater than in the USA. And these figures are averages across all classes in a society. “Health disparities are not simply a contrast between the ill health of the poor and the better health of everyone else. Instead, they run right across society so that even the reasonably well off have shorter lives than the very rich.” Although the benefits of greater equality are biggest for the lower classes, “greater equality brings substantial gains even in the top occupational class and among the richest or best educated quarter or third of the population”.
The more unequal a rich country is,the worse its performance is likely to be in a whole range of variables including:
life expectancy
infant mortality
obesity
child wellbeing
amount of mental illness
use of illegal drugs
teenage pregnancy rates
homicide
fighting and bullying among children
imprisonment rates
levels of mutual trust between citizens
maths and literacy attainment
social mobility (children rising in social scale compared with their parents)
the status of women
inventiveness and innovation
waste recycling
spending on foreign aid
Voodoo. Enda Kenny has been in the Dáil since 1975. He was a school teacher for a short period before that. He could not, as you claim, earn more elsewhere. He’s an institutionalised gombeen. He’s unemployable.
All you need is a basic degree to go to Blackhall, and I’ve seen some useless gombeen men make equity partner – at least €250k – €350k basic, plus a cut of the firm’s profits, plus perks.
Now, I’ve as low an opinion of Inda as anyone, probably worse given how much I despise the Blueshirts, but there’s no way in hell Taoiseach isn’t a tougher job than working for and sitting on the board of a well established law firm.
Voodoo. I’ve enormous respect for u from prior online debates but please – don’t try and sell Enda as employable. I wouldn’t let that plonker serve tea. And I think deep down, neither would you
Just because you are the unfortunate public worker, it is not a myth. The average weekly earning of a public sector worker as of Q2 2014 is €918.86.
http://www.cso.ie/multiquicktables/quickTables.aspx?id=ehq03_ehq08
Well that sucks
Get paid more to snip branches and pick fruit in Oz than i did after 6 years working in an insurance company at home.Messed up state of affairs
Australia has 22 million people, The state here has 4.5mn. In 2006 we were receiving about 100k immigrants, they received about 120k.
Unprecedented levels of migration like that are going to exert a downward pressure on wages and an upward pressure on the cost of living.
That was the whole point of open borders, it is about driving wages down.
Poland is a success story in the EU, growing strongly, low debt. It also has average wages of €800 a month. With free labour movement, they and countries like them set the base and the rest have to meet them half ways.
Immigration is fine but free for all and race to the bottom strategies are not.
So Stephen, your point is that the big difference between low and high earners is due to immigrants?!!
No but it certainly is an important strand in pushing down wages and breaking the power of organized labor. Always has been.
I have a friend who was a plasterer. Married 2 kids under 7, mortgage,small though because he did most of the work himself,
He is putting up for jobs against lads who live in cheap rented accommodation, live frugally, saving every penny no kids. He can’t match their ability to undercut prices. In time they’ll go back, best of luck to them because they will not be working on a pay scale that will allow them to live here, they’ll be replaced or undercut by others. Welcome to the economics of the race to the bottom.
A never ending well of employees means that all the leverage is in the hands of the rich.
Some people, usually activists from affluent backgrounds, will cry about racism. I couldn’t care less. You cannot have the benefits and protection of workers rights and the welfare state but back a radical free market approach to labour. I’ve heard political activists describe passport control at airports as fascism. Naturally the man who said it owned a red brick Georgian in South Dublin but no one disagreed. That is nuts, that is the well to do indulging in radical politics.
Immigration is fine but it has to be controlled and not the circus it has been.
Think that’s some very dodgy territory you’re getting into there Stephen … but I take your point. Joe Higgins got absolutely slated for insisting on equal pay and condidtions for the Turkish gama(?) workers, people couldn’t see that he was trying to protect Irish workers by doing so. But I really don’t think that’s the any more than a tiny, tiny part of the story.
The fact is that there’s an overall trend towards greater inequality in the post-Keynsian, Thatcherite / Reganomic / Neoliberal era, in all countries that have adopted the low tax / light (soft) touch regulation / flexibility in the labour market type mantra.
The only answer is to raise taxes and also to raise spending on infrastructure, education, etc., because it’s common sense that the more unequal a society gets, the weaker demand becomes, and the weaker the economy becomes. Of course, Labour in government are doing the exact opposite – and we’d hardly expect any better from the Blueshirts.
But, ultimately, regressive taxation, robbing the poor to feed the rich, hurts everyone. Don’t take my word for it, here’s a Nobel laureate, well worth taking the time to read this:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/05/joseph-stiglitz-the-price-on-inequality
Thats why our public representatives are the worst paid so…to reflect the general sweatshop attractions.
If somebody is takes home just over €900 for 120 hours work, thats a take home of €7.60 an hour? This obsession with the public sector being the cause of everything wrong in society is ludicrous. Its a feeble attempt by the politicians to take the blame away from property developers, bankers and themselves and for a feeble attempt, its worked out very well. Phil Hogan for example, can tell the country he couldn’t take a pay reduction as his circumstances wouldnt be able to sustain it yet you complain about a teacher on €38,000.
whoops, my comments should be on the thread just below
But Colin, don’t you remember it was the Nurses, guards and teachers that caused this crisis?
Or, as I’ve heard on a famous American News Channel: the poor! The poor people bought homes for themselves! And they couldn’t pay for it. Must be all their fault!
But never could it ever be the champions of capitalism, the heroes of our world, no, universe! Our bankers and their buddies.
This years P60 will reflect my lowest salary for many years. Welcome to world of small business owners where we also pay more tax for the privilege.
im a chef so i know about being screwed without the pleasure…!! catering is DAMN hard work–im not a high faloooooting chef but a general “i’ll do wotever i have to” chef…!! i wasnt bitching at u james!!
not wanting to be a shiiiite James– but 60hours per week??? thats highly illegal!!??
You don’t know any NCHD’s or ANP’s, do you?
Ask any of us in any hospital in the country and I guarantee you, they’ll be working more than that.
Utterly, utterly shambolic.
@james. As a frontline worker, what’s the solution to our health system? The govt are forever bringing in overpaid advisors to tell them what to do when they should be simply asking u guys.
Would abolishing the HSE and making hospitals locally managed help?
Would better technology help? I can never understand why I’ve to fill out so many forms if I go in to a hospital. Why can’t I give my PPS number and have the nurse tap that in, then I confirm name address dob contact number etc and she could fill out any extra details. would be so much quicker and also traceable searchable and no paper
God yes, much better technology.
I can’t see a patients history from other hospitals, I can’t access lab results or X-rays from other hospitals, nothing, I have to ring the hospital and ask them to email them.
The fact that Revenue, SW and DoH all deal with family welfare and yet cannot see what a person is earning, or is getting through SW or DoH or whatever.
Every public service needs to be knocked, every public servant needs to sacked and rehired on a need basis, as opposed to feeling that they’re entitled to the job because they’ve been there for centuries.
Radical overhaul, proper systems that allow proper progression.
@james. Could the HSE be safely abolished over say 3 months?
SCP, it’s not as simple as gutting the HSE, we’d like to think it is but it’s not.
It’s about starting at both ends of the pay scale and asking each worker what it is they do. If they can’t answer in 3 seconds, sack them.
That’s across all public services.
That’s why I asked u James thnx. I do think the HSE should be abolished and rebuilt from the ground up. It was an amalgamation of health boards with new higher paid jobs for everyone and is not fit for purpose
An awful lot of people work 60 hr weeks.
55k James, that’s nice.
people I think we are all missing the point here
we now live in a country with the worst wealth disparity in europe
in the last 5 years even with austerity the rich have gotten richer while the people at the other end have gotten considerably poorer.
its a proven fact that the societies that have less disparity enjoy a completely better life and that even goes for the richer people in that society
heres a brief explanation
http://youtu.be/jsEZr3s1aBA
Can someone screw Ann with the pleasure please ?
haaaaaaa!!!! tanx boy!! 1 of the places i worked (& was screwed!) that was our tag line after a bz day!!! ie:feeding 500 odd savages wit 3 chefs n 6 waitresses!!! :-D
Go down the shop for a packet of sausages & rashers a paper milk bread a banana & a mars bar you wont be coming home with much out of 30 euros.Got a elec bill for 120 euros yday one person in the house nothing going only tv and internet lights on in one room at a time .Ireland should be called crazy prices with the inflation rates here.No wonder Tescos and the like call it TREASURE ISLAND.
And they have the audacity to suggest even less pay for qualified nurses!
James…. this message is going out to you! hey buddy, get back to work. less moaning on here about only getting 55k a year and paying tax. that was good when the tiger was about .at which time i worked for a bank in dublin at the hight of it ,i was on $37k and worked 13 hr days.english banks paid less @ 25k a yr for a bank manager, no perks. people on social welfare and u are at polar opposites. focus on being more efficient (or someone else will) and less on how to kick the less fortunate. less of the long stories..more realistic non general solutions….just aim up!
Another report from the No $hit Sherlock brigade.
Let’s just get the IMF in to take control of the finance. These clowns we have in charge have no clue what to do to get the country going again. They are looking after themselves and the party they support.
Gavan how can anything be “over less than two thirds” of anything else?
Maybe we should ask why some are being paid low wages. Some companies in Ireland, in fact one very large former state company, have contracted a foreign company who the government have promoted who demanded minimum wage from private sector workers while they & the former state company force those staff to take on the work/same job of much much higher paid protected civil servants and threaten staff who don’t comply with the sack. The protected high earners have decided to create ultra-low earners to do their job and call it cost saving, while they keep their job & conditions. Thats just an example of why some are low paid in the name of cost savings & profiteering.
The issue isn’t just how many are low-wage earner but who, why, which sector and who this government is protecting and promoting to create this class in a recession where people are so terrified they will lose their job foreign companies and vulturous native companies take advantage of them to protect their own upper class.
“In Ireland, people earning below €12.20 an hour are considered as falling below the low-wage threshold.” In any other European country it would be a great job!!!
Other countries get more for their tax. We left Ireland, halved our income and still have a better standard of life than we did in Ireland.
And Remember JLC rates for over time were cut last year as well.
Ireland is the new Poland
Take the average industrial wage of between 35k to 38k.in my home town of Galway the biggest employers are the hse and education.both thes would average around and above the national average.next comes all the multynationals of which the production wages would be around 10 k under the national average. The state has a thing about getting in multynational jobs. The reality is they don’t pay very well.i work for a company that is always looking for it graduates. We cannot get them. When i look at the nationalitys applying for jobs with us, it looks like the leugue of nations.perhaps our govt might put more effort into making it easier for kids to get into it by reducing the points system and make it a condition of a grant or student loan that they have to work in ireland for period of time to repay the state for training them.then if they want to move abroad after that thats fine. Educating for export is wrong and a complete waste of money. I think free collage was a mistake.it was an election buying excerise that has cost the state dearly.
Lots of people had nice jobs during the Celtic Bubble find themselves in boring, low paid work.
have your say