Politicians and public servants to get pay rises next week
TDs' annual salaries will rise to €109,000 next week while ministers will be paid just over €198,000 a year from next week under the Building Momentum agreement for 2022-2023. File picture: Maxwells
Salaries of TDs are to increase by €1,610 with their new basic salary to be set at €108,986 from next week.
This is on top of the thousands of euro ministers and TDs receive in expenses allowances every year for travel and accommodation.
The Taoiseach, Tánaiste, ministers, TDs, senators, and public servants will all see a bump in their pay from Sunday under the Building Momentum public sector pay deal for 2022-2023.
Members or officeholders may have chosen to waive the receipt of some salary or allowances and the Coalition decided in 2020 that Cabinet members and ministers of state would gift 10% of their salaries to the State on an annual basis.
The following are the new salaries before the waived amounts are deducted.
- Taoiseach €233,828;
- Tánaiste €215,687;
- Ministers €198,089;
- Ministers of State €152,759;
- Ministers of State at Cabinet €165,361
- Senators €76,329.
A spokesperson for the Department of Public Expenditure said Government members also decided in 2020 to forgo the value of the pay increase of October 1, 2020, by way of personal waivers on an annual basis.
Under the Building Momentum agreement for 2022-2023, it was agreed that public servants would see their pay rise by 3% in February last year, a further 2% in March this year and now 1.5% or €750 — whichever is greater — due on October 1, 2023.
These increases are applied to all public service staff and are part of the pay restoration after the cuts made during the financial crisis.
A number of opposition parties have previously said they would forgo pay increases due under the agreement.
Recently, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was not out of touch due to the salary that he earns and dismissed the idea that there was a lack of understanding between the public and politicians due to the wages they earn.
Mr Varadkar said he has been taking a voluntary pay cut since 2007 and has been giving back some of his salary since 2016.
“I know there are other politicians who sign the form and post it on the internet. I've never done that. I think it's a bit trashy, quite frankly,” Mr Varadkar said, referring to Sinn Féin TDs who often have posted online that they were waiving the pay rise.
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