The best paid blog in Ireland?
The recently published Register of Members Interests for the Assembly has at least one mildly interesting entry.
Gerry Adams (aka ‘this blog’):
2. Remunerated employment, office, profession, etc
Author. Belfast Media Group, newspapers. Gross Annual remuneration: £9,600. Average hours worked per month: 18.
Adams’ work for the Belfast Media Group seems to solely consist of them reproducing entries from his Leargas blog.
He is getting £44 per hour for copies and pastes of his blogs. That’s making cash from blogging – read it and weep Fealty!
ADDS: Though I’m now wondering is Leargas really a blog or the first case of a Newspaper allowing its material to be pre-published in blog format. BMG ahead of the game?
Too right Sean. I’m thinking of asking Mick for a raise.
Glad to see you have a sense of humour, Mark.
Member of Parliament. Gross annual remuneration: £64,766. Average hours worked every four weeks: 68.
Councillor, Castlereagh Borough Council. Gross annual remuneration: £9,738. Average hours worked every four weeks: 10.
—
Whats with the Robinsons and their averages. They gave us averages when talking about their food expenses, now they are at it again in the Register…
So excuse my ignorance but…
Is Iris Robinson claiming she works an average 68 hours per week or an average of 68 hours total every 4 weeks?
Bit late off the mark Marko?
That new register of members interests has been online for days – perhaps thats why you ain’t paid anything …
TH,
Indeed. Some think I’m overpaid. But I think i’m the first to mention it that got his hourly rate correct.
It’s every four weeks, iluvni. Both jobs seem to be better paid than blogging. She earns 79.37 per hour for her toil as an MP and 81.15 per hour as a councillor. That’s not a bad hourly rate for a job that requires no qualifications whatsoever.
Why has Caitriona Ruane not declared her overseas visit to Cyprus earlier this year, which she did as Minister? http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/news-de/news-de-may-2009/news-de-110509-minister-ruane-speaks.htm
According to the Declaration of Interests page, “6. Overseas Visits
This section covers, with certain specified exceptions, overseas visits made by the Member or the Member’s partner, or dependent children, relating to or in any way arising out of membership of the Assembly (including those made in a ministerial capacity), or to the Member’s political activity, where the cost of the visit was not wholly borne by the Member, or by United Kingdom or Northern Ireland public funds.”
It could also come in under this: “7. Overseas benefits and gifts
The section covers any gift to the Member or the Member’s partner or dependent children or any material benefit of a value greater than 0.5% of the current salary of an Assembly Member, from any company, organisation or person outside of the UK which in any way relates to membership of the Assembly (including those received in a ministerial capacity) or to a Member’s political activity.”
Is someone going to alert the authorties to this?
He gets a cool £85 from CIF, as do I. Boris gets a much cooler £250k from the Daily Telegraph for his weekly column (at the same time that they have cut their freelance rate from £1 a word to 50p).
I’ve no doubt Adams has considerable value to the BMG, and that that’s a discount rate (and according to Mairtin they’ve put on an extra 1k of sales since they closed off their website content).
Without gettin political, is “this blog” worth that much? its hardly indepth, although have to admitt it does make you read on in a strange way. Still pissin myself laughing at his inflight reflections a few months ago.
ohhh, submitt word is plane too!
“£44 per hour for copies and pastes of his blogs”
Sure that’s almost an average industrial wage…