IRISH TDs have received another salary boost, with their annual basic pay now standing at €117,113 following a 1% increase introduced last week.
The rise, worth just over €1,000, is part of a broader national public sector pay agreement that affects over 400,000 workers and is gradually increasing wages across the civil service.
Further increases are already scheduled under the current public sector pay deal, with 1% rises due in both February and June next year.
On top of that, a potential 2.5% salary jump could be introduced as early as September, depending on the outcome of ongoing negotiations.
Instead of being independently set, TDs’ pay is directly tied to the salaries of principal officers in the civil service.
This arrangement, in place for more than two decades, stems from a recommendation made by a government-appointed review body that sought to align political pay with senior public sector roles.
As a result, when the top end of the civil service pay scale moves, TDs’ wages follow.
Currently, the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants, the union representing principal officers, is seeking a 2.5% increase in the maximum rate of pay for its members.
The union argues that the raise is necessary to address retention issues and increasing job complexity.
If approved, this would likely lead to another pay bump for TDs, though the Department of Public Expenditure has not confirmed whether that increase would be automatic.
TDs are not the only politicians whose pay has been affected.
Senators now receive a basic salary of €82,018, while senior political figures earn significantly more due to additional allowances.
The Ceann Comhairle, for example, now has a total salary package of €263,231, combining the base TD pay with an additional allowance of €146,118.
The Taoiseach earns €251,261, made up of the same basic TD salary plus a €134,148 allowance.
The Tánaiste receives €231,768, and cabinet ministers take home €212,858.
Despite these increases, government ministers have been returning around 10% of their pay to the State since 2019, a symbolic gesture that continues to this day.
The upward trend in TD pay follows a long recovery from cuts made during the financial crisis.
In 2008, TDs were earning just over €100,000 a year, but that figure fell sharply to €87,258 by 2013 due to emergency legislation introduced during the austerity period.
Since then, salaries have been steadily restored through successive public sector pay deals.
Still, the issue of rising political pay remains contentious.
In 2021, Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin declined a scheduled increase, saying it was inappropriate for politicians to accept more money while people across the country were struggling, particularly those relying on unemployment benefits during the COVID pandemic.
At the time, he said he believed TDs’ salaries were excessive and urged his colleagues to follow suit in rejecting increases.
As the current €3.6 billion public service pay agreement continues to roll out, and with further negotiations underway, the full extent of future TD salary increases remains to be seen.
See More: Civil Service, Oireachtas, Pay Rise, TD
