Haughey pockets €132,000 pension

FORMER Taoiseach Charles Haughey received pension payments of over €132,000 in 2004 as part of a €12 million pension bill for former Oireachtas members.

Mr Haughey was one of 10 former Government ministers who received over €100,000 in pensions that year. He received €132,233 comprising a TD’s pension of €46,498 and a ministerial pension of €85,735.

Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds’s annual pension almost matched that of Mr Haughey. His overall pension of €131,000 comprised a ministerial pension of €84,578 and a TD’s pension of €46,498.

The pensions paid to other former Taoisigh were: Garrett FitzGerald (€126,875) and Liam Cosgrave (€126,319).

Another former Taoiseach, John Bruton, who resigned from the Dáil last year to become the EU ambassador to Washington, is also entitled to a pension of approximately €120,000 per annum.

The former office holder with the highest pension entitlement is former President Patrick J Hillery. His pension topped €204,000 in 2004. He received a pension of €119,463 for his period in Áras an Uachtaráin, a ministerial pension of €33,779 and a Dáil pension of €51,148.

The Oireachtas pension details, received under a Freedom of Information request, show that just over €7m was paid out in 2004 to 224 former members of the Seanad and Dáil. An additional €1,841,000 was paid to widows, widowers and children of deceased Oireachtas members.

The latest Finance Accounts (for 2003) show that a further €3m was paid out in ministerial pensions.

Pensions for those elected before 2004 become payable from the moment a TD or Senator is no longer a member of the Oireachtas. Ministerial pensions become payable once the person is no longer a minister irrespective of whether or not they remain a member of the Oireachtas.

Former Finance Minister Charlie McCreevey changed the rules for pensions in Budget 2004. Any TD elected after April that year will not become entitled to collect a ministerial or Oireachtas pension until they reach the age of 65.

However, a number of Oireachtas members receive ministerial pensions on top of their salaries (the top Dáil salary is €82,000 per year). They include: Sen Brendan Daly (€35,658); Sen Mary O’Rourke (€43,838); Enda Kenny (€12,217); Jim O’Keeffe (€15,405) and former FG leader Michael Noonan (€24,824).

Disgraced former Fianna Fáil Minister Ray Burke received a pension of €90,993 in 2004. Two other former Fianna Fáil TDs called as witnesses before the Planning Tribunal, Liam Lawlor and Padraig Flynn, also receive substantial pensions. Mr Flynn received €75,525 in 2004 and Mr Lawlor received €47,226.