Politicians’ salaries are not the real issue

IN her letter (September 15), Dr Florence Craven declares that Taoiseach Brian Cowen has “truly lost all contact with the people in granting TDs a basic salary of €100,000”.

She then asks what any of them has done to deserve it?

The ultimate horror of horrors, according to Dr Craven, is that “these horrendous increases can benefit even opposition TDs”.

The salaries paid to our public representatives are decided not by the Taoiseach, but by comparing the job they do with that of similar people in the rest of the economy.

Democratic representatives, including the opposition, should be adequately compensated for the important work they do in representing the rest of us in the Oireachtas.

I do not see it — as Dr Craven does — as “this abuse of public money”.

The problem is not the level of politicians’ salaries. It is the fact that we have become a virtual one-party state for most of the past 20 years. Consequently, I agree with Dr Craven’s view that we need to overhaul the political system to ensure a functioning democracy with regular changes of government.

Anthony Leavy

Shielmartin Drive

Sutton

Dublin 13