Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is always a difficulty in having any group decide their own pay and that is particularly the case for those involved in public life. I remind Deputies that the principle that parliamentarians should be paid is a fundamental part of how we support our democratic process. If we do not pay our parliamentarians a wage to reflect the responsibilities they have, we will confine our pool of potential politicians to those of independent means or, in a worse case scenario, to those who might be beholden to others. We are all aware of the risks that can pose to the proper practice of politics.

The question therefore becomes what is a reasonable rate of pay for the responsibilities involved and who should decide this. Some Members will recall the recommendation of the 38th report of the review body on higher remuneration in the public sector in 2000 that the pay of Deputies should be linked to the principal officer grade in the Civil Service. That recommendation was based on independent and expert consideration of the level of responsibility and the commensurate level of pay. The review body also recommended that Senators be paid 70% of the Teachta Dála rate. The Government of the day accepted that recommendation and the pay of Deputies has followed this link ever since, including through the pay cuts of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act, FEMPI, and now through the pay restoration measures involved in the unwinding of that same legislation.

The FEMPI legislation provided for pay reductions for all public servants on a progressive basis. Similarly, provision for all public servants was included in the phased unwinding of the FEMPI measures. Of course, notwithstanding the enactment of the FEMPI Act 2015, it remains open to Members of the Oireachtas to forego the restoration of the pay reduction on a voluntary basis.

See this speech in context