Government defends salary hikes for TDs amid budget reforms

The Government has defended salary hikes for TDs amid Budget 2017 reforms which offered most people five euro extra a week.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe also suggested pay rises for ministers would be looked at next year but refused to be drawn on the prospect of wage freeze.

“The last thing on my mind at the moment is the welfare and salary of TDs I can assure you,” he said.

“I absolutely understand that perception and I’m so keenly aware of the hurt and anxiety that’s been caused to so many people after all that we went through.”

Mr Donohoe was on RTÉ Radio's Today with Sean O'Rourke with Minister for Finance Michael Noonan to defend the heavily criticised first-time buyers' tax rebate, childcare subsidies, Brexit safeguards and other key initiatives in the budget.

He claimed childcare costs should come down by the level of subsidies being paid direct to registered childminders or creches rather than that money being used to boost wages of staff or improve facilities.

TDs are in line for a pay rise of €2,700 next year and again in 2018 while welfare benefits including the dole, pensions and carers’ and disability allowance is going up by a fiver, but not before March 1st.

Mr Donohoe defended the salary increases for politicians which were agreed as part of pay restoration plans for all public and civil servants.

“Everything is now tied in to how we treat public and civil servants. There’s the issue in relation to Ministerial salaries that we will revisit because I don’t want to be in a situation where people feel in the future that there’s any kind of unfairness going on,” he said.

PA