COUNCILLORS €8K NEW DEAL BONUS

Wage hike for Fine Gael, Fianna Fail & Greens slammed as a bribe

COUNCILLORS in Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green party stand to get a €8,000 pay rise if they back the programme for government, it was revealed yesterday.

It has emerged the wage hike is part of the deal which is set to be voted on by party members in the coming days.

The agreement was thrashed out by the three parties in the past few weeks and gives an undertaking to follow the recommendations in a report which calls for the raise for councillors.

The three parties have committed to implementing the pay rise with a year of coming to power.

Many people claim the pay rise amounts to a “bribe” to persuade the councillors to vote in favour of the

Programme for Government. It is known many grassroots Fianna Fail, members – including councillors – are unhappy with the coalition.

There are also a number of Green party members who believe many of the environmental and emission commitments contained in the document are too vague.

The recommendation to increase local councillors pay is contained an unpublished report by lawyer Sara Moorhead.

As it stands local politicians earn around €17,000 a year and if the programme for government is ratified they will see that increase to around €25,000.

It has emerged 279 councillors in Fianna Fail, 255 in Fine Gael, and 49 in the Green Party will pick up the extra €8,000 a year.

The wage increase will hit the taxpayer for around €7.5million each year.

Fianna Fail leader

Micheal Martin and Fine

Gael chief Leo Varadkar fear the deal might be rejected.

The Taoiseach said if this was to occur the country would be facing a “political crisis”.

It is understood this was an attempt to persuade wavering Green party members to vote in favour of the deal.

It is almost certain the membership of FF and FG will back the deal but it there are concerns it could be rejected by the Greens as a 66% majority is needed.

Some senior Fianna Fail figures including former deputy leader Eamon O Cuiv have already confirmed they will not be backing the deal.

€25k That’s what councillors will be paid if the deal is approved

WHILE local politicians may be entitled to a pay rise its timing will not go down well with a public whose incomes have been slashed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The fact the €8,000-a-year increase is promised in the Programme For Government, which the councillors and other party members are about to vote on, will also cause anger.

There is little doubt local politicians do valuable work and their earnings are not excessive.

But to promise an €8,000 increase to councillors while austerity looms for many people would be the worst possible start for the new Government.