Gormley: TDs should volunteer to give-up increments

Green Party leader John Gormley has said that TDs and Senators should take the initiative and give up their long-service increments.

Since the announcement in this month’s Budget that the payments would be cut, it has emerged that members of the Oireachtas who currently receive them will not lose the increments, and that legislation will be required to deal with the issue into the future.

The Environment Minister said that in the absence of new legislation, politicians should show leadership and volunteer to give up the increments.

Meanwhile, Minister Gormley also confirmed he is planning to impose a strict spending cap on councillors, aimed at curtailing the number of conferences and trips abroad.

“There is a situation sometimes arising where councillors are spending far too much of taxpayers’ money in trips, particularly trips abroad,” he said.

“This is the area that I think needs to be tightened up on, and that's where I think legislation which will be introduced in the autumn will put a cap on spending for conferences and suchlike.”