Toíbín proposes Bill to cut TDs' salaries during restrictions

Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín has submitted a new Bill to the Dail that would cut the salary of TDs and senators by 25 per cent during Level 4 and Level 5 restrictions and when premises such as pubs, cafes and restaurants are closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

“The mantra of this government has been that we are all in this together. That is plainly untrue. Hundreds of thousands of workers and businesses have had their ability to earn a salary taken away from them. They have had their income radically reduced. Many have been pushed into poverty. The restrictions have had an enormous cost to so many people throughout the country.

“We believe that politicians cannot represent properly if they cannot relate. It is clear that the government do not know what it is like for families right around the country. "Making decisions for so many people and being immune to the consequences of those decisions does not make for good governance. If politicians don’t share in the cost of those decisions, they are blind to the real experience of so many people."

Deputy said the chasm that exists between the people and the elected representatives has never been as wide.

"In the last economic crash, there was a logical downward pressure on the incomes of elected representatives in line with the rest of society. But on this occasion, politicians salaries are actually going in the opposite direction to hundreds of thousands of people.

"While the savings to the state in this proposed salary cut may not be large, it is really important that everyone, including TDs pays their share of the cost of getting Ireland back on its feet. We need as a society to do all we can to keep the Covid 19 numbers down. We also need to learn with this illness that will be with us for a long period of time”.

“It is time that the body politic in Ireland led by example. The words 'We are all in this together' are thrown around like confetti. Its time for TDs to put their money where their mouth is and back the Aontú Bill,” he said.