THE GOVERNMENT is to seek legal advice to determine if Budget-day decisions to cut seniority increments for TDs and ministerial pensions for sitting Oireachtas members can be applied retrospectively, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said last night.
Speaking before he addressed a Fianna Fáil meeting in Tullamore, Co Offaly, Mr Cowen said that in future TDs and Senators who would have qualified for either payment would not receive them.
But he said there was an issue relating to Oireachtas members who were already in receipt of the long-service increments or ministerial pensions.
The Government would seek legal advice from Attorney General Paul Gallagher and the necessary legislation would be prepared in the coming weeks, he said.
The Government wanted to make sure the issue was dealt with in a fair and appropriate way. The question of how to deal with “those who already have entitlements under the present system inter-relate with retrospection is something we need to take advice on,” he said.
Earlier yesterday the Department of Finance had said TDs and Senators who were already in receipt of long-service increments would be allowed to keep them.
Mr Lenihan had been criticised by the Labour Party after it emerged that his Budget decision to drop the increments did not apply to those currently in receipt of them.
In his speech to the Dáil, Mr Lenihan announced cuts in ministerial and deputies’ pay, pensions and conditions, saying: “Deputies will no longer receive long-service payments or increments.”
The Department of Finance said yesterday the change would apply to deputies who had less than seven years’ service, and those subsequently elected – but not to the 66 TDs who currently receive an increment of €6,600 after 10 years’ service.
“The supplementary Budget set out that deputies will no longer receive long-service payments or increments. If it was intended to reduce deputies’ pay . . . it would have been clearly set out as such,” said the department.
Green Party Senator Dan Boyle said it had never been intended to take increments away from politicians, though he strongly favoured speedy action to take pensions from serving TDs and to cut expenses.
Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said it had been his understanding from the night of the Budget that increments would be cut but this was not a view shared by other deputies.
He said confusion over the matter was illustrative of “a pattern of incompetence” within the Government. He had understood that the increment was to be abolished for all TDs until he read media reports yesterday saying otherwise.
He also dismissed suggestions emanating from Government circles that sitting TDs and Senators who were former ministers might forgo their pensions voluntarily.
“I would advise the Government to decide and legislate, and let’s stop this nonsense over who is doing more volunteering,” said Mr Gilmore.
Fine Gael last night said it had “published substantial proposals on Oireachtas reform and budgetary measures to help control our public finances. We proposed a public sector pay, increments and bonus freeze for the next two years as part of a series of measures to help restore the balance of our public finances. We did not propose the withdrawal of existing paid increments for any group of workers in the public sector and we have no proposals to do so now.”