Senator: It’s not easy to get by on €65k

IT’S “not easy” for senators with families to get by on €65,000 a year, Seanad leader Donie Cassidy has said.

The Fianna Fáil senator said his colleagues had been hit by both a pay cut and the public service pension levy since the economic crisis began, which made it particularly difficult for younger senators raising children.

“Most of the members of the Seanad are full-time politicians and they don’t have any other income,” he said. “They have taken a pay cut and then have to pay their levies. It’s not easy.”