TD Payrise during Covid Crisis is Criminal. Cut TD Salaries During Crisis Instead – Tóibín
Aontú Leader and Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín TD stated;
“Ireland is in unprecedented crisis. 1 in 4 workers are unemployed. This is one of the highest rates in the history of the state. Hundreds of thousands of workers and businesses have had their ability to earn a salary deleted. Incomes are radically reduced. Many have been pushed into poverty. Yet at the same time TDs are receiving pay rises. Its clear the Political Establishment are incredibly Tone Deaf”.
“The contrast between the two Irelands could not be starker. Its hard to think of a time in the history of this state when the chasm that exists between the people of Ireland and the elected representatives was ever as wide. Ireland is standing at the precipice of major economic turmoil. The Budget Deficit for last year is expected to be €19 billion. Our National Debt will rise by €35 billion, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, to €239 billion. This works out at €47,700 per person”.
“Ireland is already an extremely heavily indebted country which radically exposures us to future shocks. When this crisis subsides as a country the Budget Deficit will have to be reduced. My worry is that FF and FG will do what they always do and reduce it with massive cuts in public service spending such as Health and increase taxes on low and middle income earners. If this government is still in power we may well be looking at a number of years of austerity in the near future.”
“In the last economic crash, there was a logical downward pressure on the incomes of elected reps in line with the rest of society. But on this occasion, politicians salaries are actually going in the opposite direction to hundreds of thousands of people. While the savings to the state in this proposed salary cut may not be large its really important that everyone, including TDs pays their share of the cost of getting Ireland back on its feet”.
“On top of this due serious Government incompetence the country is facing 9 more weeks of lockdown. It’s clear that the government do not know what is like for families right around the country. Making decisions for so many people and being immune to the consequences of those decisions does not make for good governance. If politicians don’t share in the cost of those decisions, they are blind to the real experience of so many people”.
“Aontú has submitted this new Bill to the Dáil. If passed it would cut the salary of TDs and Seanadóirí by 25% during Level 4 and Level 5 restrictions and when premises such as Pubs, Shops Cafes and Restaurants are forced to close. Its implementation would concentrate the minds of the government in relation to speeding up vaccine roll out, the fiasco which is International Travel, the disaster that’s happened in our nursing homes, the lack of capacity in the Health service and absence of all Ireland cooperation.
“During all this crisis, the sentence we hear from the political class over and over again is that “we are all in this together”. But that is patently not true? There is very little sign of solidarity from this government. Many within the political class in Ireland have lauded the government of New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern during Covid. Twitter feeds from FF, FG and Green TDs were glowing of Ardern during the Crisis. Yet we ask them to follow her example of taking a pay cut during to Covid they keep their heads down. Its time for TDs to put their money where their mouth is. I urge the house to pass this Bill as soon as is possible”, concluded Tóibín
