Be wary about some of the numbers given here
There is no standard FR contract. All bases have different numbers. The local deals for tax/social insurance vary and will have an impact on take home pay. Recent FR contracts for FO's in mainland Europe as low as 18 000 Euro/year for FO < 1500 hrs. Even with allowance + sector pay it will be far less than fulminn's 4500-5000 !!!!!
For Contractos (Storm/Brookfield). Numbers are going down because the times are over when you could put up a company in Dubai/Malta/Isle of Man and skip out on income taxes. The times are also over when you could pay the ridiculously low Irish PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance) of 4 %. Contractors who have been here a while can live on grandfathers rights for a few more years, but new joiners can't avoid it.
A colleague spoken to recently said she's got a retention rate of 46 % on a normal month, complying with taxes. That is, 46 % of what your company invoices Brookfield actually ends up in your wallet. Do the maths yourself; [€ per hour] x [Hours per anum] x 0.46.
This is the future. What your hear today is from people that's been living the good years under dubious tax agreements. Wait 10 years and see what the average FO will say they per month.
There are still people out boasting and bragging about how awesome money they make as contractors.
So listen to salesmen like Depone and fulminn all you like, but use caution before you accept their numbers of the bat. Better ask all pilots in Ryanair, old as well as new for their facts. Everyone has a different situation.