TDs are ‘entitled’ to €3,000 pay hike

MINISTERS last night insisted TDs were “entitled” to take a €3,000 pay rise — despite deputies saying they did not want the increase because of the backlash it would provoke.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan claimed it was “not perverse” for TDs to be receiving the wage boost for completing seven years in the Dáil, as their wages were linked to civil service grades which would also get the extra cash. The move saw a farcical situation arise where many of the TDs eligible for the hike said they did not want it, while the Government insisted it would go ahead.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan also defended the pay perk, despite the public service pay cuts and the need to fill the massive e4.5bn black hole in state finances in next month’s emergency budget.