TDs pay to rise by €42,000 over five years

TDs will have received an 84% wage hike over five years by 2005, with their pay rising €42,000 over that period.

Senators are doing even better. Their pay will more than double, according to a new study on politicians pay.

As TDs enjoy the first weekend of their three-month summer break, they can contemplate their current basic salary of €73,900 rising to €91,800 in another two years. Added to that, expenses and travel and subsistence allowances have become far more generous in recent years, meaning most TDs will be earning six-figure sums.