THREE OF the European Parliament members for Dublin from different parties have come together to announce that they are giving up their pension entitlements as former TDs and ministers.
The three, Eoin Ryan of Fianna Fáil, Gay Mitchell of Fine Gael and Proinsias De Rossa of the Labour Party, made the decision to forfeit their pension entitlements in a show of solidarity in the current economic crisis.
In a statement the three pointed out that the European Parliament had recently passed a new statute changing pay and expenses for MEPs after many years of proposals for change.
“In recent times, we have benefited from the Celtic Tiger and the regime that went with it.
“However, times have changed and we recognise that we must show solidarity as all are being asked to make sacrifice to help with economic recovery,” said the three MEPs in a statement.
“We have therefore agreed that we will forgo any pension entitlement we have as either a member of the Oireachtas and as minister and are making arrangements with the Department of Finance to discontinue these payments accordingly,” said the MEPs’ statement.
The three added that they were issuing the statement jointly so that it would not be seen as one MEP seeking political advantage over another but a genuine act of solidarity.
The three Dublin MEPs were all long-serving members of the Dáil and they also served as ministers during their time in national politics.
