TDs receive the first pay rise under the benchmarking review of public sector pay this month, it emerged yesterday.
The increase follows a circular from the Department of Finance in the past fortnight sanctioning public bodies to pay the first round of the benchmarking increases this month.
For administrative purposes, the Department said the increase should be paid initially to public servants whose pay is linked a specific grade. Senators may have to wait for their increase because of this, as their pay is not pegged to a specific scale.
Under an agreement with trade unions, public servants receive one quarter of the benchmarking award, while the remainder is dependent on improved productivity.
The benchmarking body awarded an average increase of 8.9 per cent to some 230,000 State employees. The total bill is expected to cost taxpayers €1.1 billion.
Some grades received awards significantly in excess of the average. This includes TDs, whose pay is pegged with senior civil servants, and senators, whose pay is a percentage of TDs'.
Under the 2001 Buckley report on higher remuneration in the public sector, TDs' salaries were pegged at the same level as mid-grade principal officers in the Civil Service. They are also entitled to 3.5 per cent per annum after 10 years in the Dáil.
The salary of TDs before benchmarking was €70,446. The benchmarking body gave an overall increase of 11.7 per cent to assistant principals, meaning that TDs receive a 2.95 per cent increase this month. That equates with a full-year salary increase of €2,078.16. They will also receive a lump sum to bnack-date the payment to December 2001, worth around €3,000. Further phases of the award are due to be paid over the next year and a half,
The salary alone of TDs does not give a full picture of their income as they are entitled to significant expenses .
Senators' salaries were set under Buckley at 70 per cent of the rate applying to TDs. This means their salary is €49,312.20.
However, their increase in the benchmarking award is set between the 11.7 per cent increase given to principal officers and the 13.8 per cent given to assistant principal officers. This implies a full-year increase in the first benchmarking round of about €1,454-€1,701.26.
Because senators' pay is not linked to a specific grade, it was believed last night, but could not be absolutely confirmed, that they would not be among the first to receive the initial benchmarking award.
The benchmarking process was set up at the height of the economic boom, when private-sector salaries were perceived to be increasing much faster than those in the public sector. The objective of the exercise was to peg public salaries with equivalent grades in the private sector.
Chaired by Mr Justice Quirke, the benchmarking body was criticised for not publishing the research underpinning the awards it granted. The body spent more than €2 million commissioning research from external consultants but none of that work was published.