Fine Gael TD Deirdre Clune has criticised the Government for paying the former Financial Regulator a €630,000 package on his resignation.

The €630,000 package the former Financial Regulator is to receive from the taxpayer has echoes of the package of €440,000 FAS Director General also received from the taxpayer following his resignation. On this evidence it is hard to escape the conclusion that the Cowen Government rewards bad service well.

The Government is willing to levy the very lowest paid public servants, deprive special needs children teaching support and cut childcare payments to families to save taxpayer’s money while at the same time paying out vast sums of taxpayers money to high flying Government appointees who have resigned following revelations concerning the mismanagement of their functions.

On a daily basis I am contacted by average and low paid workers in both the public and private sector who are willing to play their part to get the economy back on track if they see others do likewise. These people are unwilling to take the entire burden of economic recovery while watching the Government protect others from the economic realities of this downturn.

Over a decade of unbroken Fianna Fáil Government has allowed the lowest standards go unchecked in the highest places. We now have a situation where Government appointees are rewarded for being bad at their jobs by a Government that is truly dreadful at its job.

Brian Cowen and his Ministers are so out of touch with the Irish people on this issue that his own backbench TDs and Green partners are distancing themselves from his defence of the Neary payment in the hope of not going down with the sinking ship that is the Cowen Government.