I'm not looking for sympathy for TDs. I'm just trying to address the myth of it being a cushy number. The solution to the constituency crap lies in the hands of the constituents. Most people think it's a load of constituency crap, until it happens to be THEIR planning problem, or THEIR granny in hospital.
Nobody is claiming it is a cushy number. Again you are missing the point. My original question is why politicians seem to gain from every single pay award going around. Why are they getting increases under National Pay Agreements and then topping these up with benchmarking, pay reviews etc? This is what I mean:
Pay rises
Pay increases awarded to the Taoiseach, Tanaiste and ministers since the 1997 election under national wage agreements, the Review Body on Higher Remuneration and benchmarking:
July 1997: 2.5 per cent (subject to maximum increase of IR£5 a week), Partnership 2000
April 1998: 2.5 per cent (also removal of IR£5 per week ceiling), Partnership 2000
July 1998: 2.25 per cent, Partnership 2000
July 1999: 1.5 per cent, Partnership 2000
April 2000: 1 per cent, Partnership 2000
September 2000: 5 per cent (ofministerial salary only),Review Body
October 2000: 5.5 per cent, Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF)
March 2001: 5 per cent (of ministerial salary only), Review Body
April 2001: 2 per cent, adjustment to PPF
July 2001:5 per cent (of ministerial salary only), Review Body
October 2001: 5.5 per cent, PPF
December 2001: (backdated from 2003) 2.75 per cent (of TD’s portion of salary only), benchmarking
April 2002: 1 per cent lump sum, PPF
April 2002: 5 per cent, Review Body October 2002: 4 per cent, PPF
January 2004: 5.5 per cent (of TDs’ salaries only), benchmarking
January 2004: 3 per cent, Sustaining Progress
July 2004: 2 per cent, Sustaining Progress
December 2004: 2 per cent, Sustaining Progress
June 2005: 1.5 per cent, Sustaining Progress II
June 2005: 2.5 per cent (of TDs’ salaries only), benchmarking
July 2005: 7.5 per ce nt (of ministerial salary only), Review Body
December 2005:1.5 per cent, Sustaining Progress II
June 2006: 2.5 per cent, Sustaining Progress II
December 2006: 3 per cent, Towards 2016
June 2007: 2 per cent, Towards 2016
September 2007: 5 per cent, Review Body
September 2008: 2 per cent, National Pay agreement
Source: Department of Finance