Ministers of State appointed on Wednesday will be paid an additional €45,846 on top of their TD salaries of €113,679 — just under €160,000 a year, according to figures published by the Houses of the Oireachtas
Moreover, the four super-junior Ministers to be appointed — who have the right of attendance at Cabinet but are not formally members and do not have command of a full Government department — will each receive a further top-up of €13,145 a year in salary.
An extension of an allowance for travel and accommodation, ranging from €6,000 up to €32,000, which was previously not available to junior ministers but requested by Independent TDs as part of the negotiations on the programme for government, is planned. That will bring the total package available for junior ministers to more than €190,000 and above €200,000 a year for super juniors, depending on their travel costs.
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The Independents had complained that because the previous rules meant that they did not qualify for travel and accommodation allowances if they were appointed junior ministers, they would be left worse off than many backbench TDs.
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TDs are paid a basic salary of €113,679, as of the last increase in pay on October 1st last. Ministerial salaries are paid on top of this — an additional €92,938 for a Cabinet Minister, €130,216 for the Taoiseach and €111,294 for the Tánaiste, though in many cases Ministers, Taoiseach and Tánaiste have previously declined to accept pay increases.
There are similar top-ups for the Ceann Comhairle, Leas Ceann Comhairle, Cathaoirleach and Leas Cathaoirleach of the Seanad and leader of the Seanad.
There are also a range of allowances for positions that TDs may hold in the Oireachtas. In the last Dáil, these were as follows: Sinn Féin party whip (€21,773); assistant government whip (€17,191); Fianna Fáil party whip (€11,458); Fine Gael party whip (€11,458); Sinn Féin assistant whip (€10,888); Green Party whip (€6,875), Labour Party whip (€6,875), PBP-Solidarity whip (€6,875); Fianna Fáil assistant whip (€5,731); Fine Gael assistant whip (€5,731); and Green Party assistant whip (€3,439).
A similar — though slightly lower — range of payments is available for whips in the Seanad.
TDs and senators may also qualify for payments for chairing a committee (€10,888).
TDs are paid expenses under two headings — the travel and accommodation allowance (based on the distanced from their home to Leinster House) and the “public representation allowance”. The travel and allowance scheme ranges from €9,000 a year for Dublin TDs to €34,065 for TDs more than 360km from Kildare Street. To receive the allowance, TDs must be in attendance for at least 120 days a year.
Oireachtas members (including ministers) are also eligible for the public representation allowance intended to reimburse them for costs incurred for their work — and includes rent of an office, cleaning, leaflets, advertising, attendance at conferences, public relations, etc. The maximum amounts range from €20,350 for a TD to €16,000 for a minister and €12,225 for a senator.
There are also a number of other allowances payable to members of the Oireachtas, including a secretarial allowance, telephone and postal facilities, a direct purchase scheme (for mobile phones), a constituency office establishment allowance (does not apply to senators), a security reimbursement allowance, a once-off payment at in respect of travel cost at dissolution and a graphic design allowance.
Further State funding for parties and independents is also available. Independents receive about €37,000 each ‘leaders’ allowance' funding – intended to assist them running their political operations.
A spokesman for the Department of Public Expenditure said: “The allowance covers specific expenses incurred as set out in legislation. Statements of expenditure for the allowance, must be audited by an independent auditor and furnished with the auditor’s report to the Standards in Public Office Commission.”
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