An opposition TD has introduced legislation in the Dáil to cut the salaries of TDs and Senators by 25 per cent during Level 4 and Level 5 restrictions.
Aontú TD Peadar Tóibín said that “every single Deputy should be playing their part to take on the cost of getting Ireland back on its feet”.
Introducing the Oireachtas Members (Economic Justice) (Covid-19) Bill, Mr Tóibín asked “how can politicians properly represent people if they cannot relate to them”.
TDs earn a basic salary of €98,113 while Senators earn €69,474 and the legislation would cut that by 25 per cent during restrictions when pubs, shops, cafés, restaurants and businesses not considered essential, are forced to close.
Mr Tóibín said “it is clear the Government knows very little about what families are going through at the moment” and he suggested that a cut in salary would “concentrate the minds” of Government TDs.
“Perhaps they will start to do a better job on very basic things such as making sure that we have proper management of travel into this country, proper safeguards for our nursing homes and proper investment in the health service in this time of crisis.”
‘Pushed into poverty’
Stating that there are two “radically different” Irelands in existence he said one included more than 500,000 people unemployed and a “radical reduction of income right across Irish society. Hundreds of thousands of people are being pushed into poverty.”
The second Ireland included the political class where the salaries of TDs and Judges had increased.
He also cited the Minister for Public Expenditure’s defence of the €80,000 increase to the salary of the general secretary of the Department of Health to €290,000 at a time “when the incomes of so many people are being absolutely trashed”.
The Meath West TD said “it’s as though the political classes are partying just before the country goes down the tubes economically” with a budget deficit of €19 billion this year and the likelihood that €35 billion will be added to the national debt, bringing it to a “whopping €239 billion”.
The legislation now goes into a lottery system where private members’ Bills are chosen at random for second stage debate.
