A TD can easily secure an income of €140,000 a year before deduction of their expenses. Assuming that the Dail sits for a hundred days a year, then the theorietical cost per TD per sitting day works out at about €1,400. However, the real cost is a huge multiple of this as few TDs seem to spend much or any time in the Chamber. Thus, the actual cost of a TD's Dail appearance or speech could work out at several thousand euro per minute or per word.
A better way of looking at the cost of TDs is through the Oireachtas Commission's expenditure estimates. This indicates that salary, expenses and allowances will average €199,000 per TD for 2004. This is before adding in the €44,000 to be paid to TDs for their proposed personal research assistants. On this basis, the direct cost of a TD will reach a quarter of a million for the year. This takes no account of other perks - gold plated pensions, private dining, free parking etc.
How can this be justified when there is no prohibition on TDs doing nixers and consultancy work; the Dail only sits for 100 or so days a year; and TDs are diminishing the Dail's status by limiting genuine debate, restricting time for questioning and bypassing it for major announcements?
A better way of looking at the cost of TDs is through the Oireachtas Commission's expenditure estimates. This indicates that salary, expenses and allowances will average €199,000 per TD for 2004. This is before adding in the €44,000 to be paid to TDs for their proposed personal research assistants. On this basis, the direct cost of a TD will reach a quarter of a million for the year. This takes no account of other perks - gold plated pensions, private dining, free parking etc.
How can this be justified when there is no prohibition on TDs doing nixers and consultancy work; the Dail only sits for 100 or so days a year; and TDs are diminishing the Dail's status by limiting genuine debate, restricting time for questioning and bypassing it for major announcements?
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