Ousted TD pensions and termination payments?

Zipppy

Can anyone explain what pension arrangements and termination payments / lump sums TDs who have been ousted in current election will get?

Lockstep

It depends how long they've been serving.
This explains things quite well.
Basically, divide their salary by 40 and multiply it by the number of years they worked in the Dáil up to a maximum of 20. So a TD who got elected in 2011 and wasn't re-elected would get €11.5k)

It also looks like they'd get a golden handshake of three times their pension, so a once off €35k, a further lump sum of 2 months salary (€15.4k) for those who've served more than 6 months and for more than 3 years, they'd get an additional monthly payment up to €58k over the year.

Different rules apply for ministers.

emeldc

Lockstep wrote: »

It depends how long they've been serving.
This explains things quite well.
Basically, divide their salary by 40 and multiply it by the number of years they worked in the Dáil up to a maximum of 20. So a TD who got elected in 2011 and wasn't re-elected would get €11.5k)

It also looks like they'd get a golden handshake of three times their pension, so a once off €35k, a further lump sum of 2 months salary (€15.4k) for those who've served more than 6 months and for more than 3 years, they'd get an additional monthly payment up to €58k over the year.

Different rules apply for ministers.

Great little country isn't it. A pension after 5 years service. Enough to boil yer pi$$.

Zipppy

Lockstep wrote: »

It depends how long they've been serving.
This explains things quite well.
Basically, divide their salary by 40 and multiply it by the number of years they worked in the Dáil up to a maximum of 20. So a TD who got elected in 2011 and wasn't re-elected would get €11.5k)

It also looks like they'd get a golden handshake of three times their pension, so a once off €35k, a further lump sum of 2 months salary (€15.4k) for those who've served more than 6 months and for more than 3 years, they'd get an additional monthly payment up to €58k over the year.

Different rules apply for ministers.

I actually found one that explains it a wee bit better... http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/tdsandsenators/afterthedissolution/Dissolution-Guidelines.pdf

I think those old 2012 rules were amended...

dulpit

emeldc wrote: »

Great little country isn't it. A pension after 5 years service. Enough to boil yer pi$$.

To be fair though - the logic is that it's a big risk to run for the Dáil. You have to give up your job for a period of time, with no guarantees of being re-elected. As far as I am aware, that is the reason for the high pensions.

If the pensions weren't there, then it may have the effect of barring some people from running. Imagine giving up a full time job to be elected, then losing your seat a few years down the line - I wouldn't risk it myself...

Having said that - the pensions do get way, way too big.

quadrifoglio verde

emeldc wrote: »

Great little country isn't it. A pension after 5 years service. Enough to boil yer pi$$.

Pension doesn't kick in until they're 65/66.
It used to be once you resigned or lost your seat, but Kenny and the lads changed it in their first few weeks to 65/66

dulpit

quadrifoglio verde wrote: »

Pension doesn't kick in until they're 65/66.
It used to be once you resigned or lost your seat, but Kenny and the lads changed it in their first few weeks to 65/66

Oh really? In that case, it renders my previous comment moot - and it goes back to the pensions being way too generous...

Sam Russell

Also most TDs are teachers, publicans, or lawyers. None of these resign their jobs when elected.

Jaggo

Sam Russell wrote: »

Also most TDs are teachers, publicans, or lawyers. None of these resign their jobs when elected.

It would also explain why there are very few TD's from other professions and so many from the above.

L1011

The risk of even running for TD - which really does require you to take leave of absence to do - in any other profession in huge. People act as if the TD salary here is horrendous and then also get outraged at the fact that its mostly teachers, with guaranteed return after Oireachtas leave, that go for it.

If I even ran for the Dail I'd probably have trouble getting another job in my industry. Getting booted out after 5 years would probably have me on the dole until 66 unless I started my own business.

You also aren't going to get successful business people from any sector at all really for the Dail salary - how we even get a large number of barristers willing to take <90k with the knowledge they'll get cases out the door afterwards amazes me. I've seen people screeching about how we've a lack of entrepreneurs in the Dail - only those that have no current business are going to dedicate basically all their time to it for <90k.