Opposition party whips and the judiciary have been given a pay increase by the Cabinet, one week after the Government rejected a motion to pay student nurses.
For some opposition whips the stipend paid on top of their €97,000 a year salary has almost doubled.
At its weekly meeting, Ministers approved plans to award the judiciary a pay increase in line with other rises in the public sector.
There was some unease in political circles at the move which comes at a time when the Government has been criticised for not providing student nurses with full pay rates.
Sources confirmed to The Irish Examiner that cuts to judicial pensions have been “restored”.
Ministers also gave consent to an increased allowance for the party whips, who act as convenors for their parties in the Dáil.
This includes an increase from €10,000 to €19,000 for the Sinn Féin whip Pádraig Mac Lochlainn. Sources confirmed to The Irish Times that the assistant Sinn Féin whip will receive an increase from €5,000 to €9,500.
However, in a video released today on their Twitter account, Mac Lochlainn says he will not be accepting the payment.
Sinn Féin Chief Whip @PadraigMacL says that Sinn Féin will NOT be accepting the pay increases proposed by Government #fairness pic.twitter.com/qqk2KCYEli
— Sinn Féin (@sinnfeinireland) December 8, 2020
The Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil whips will receive €10,000 while the Green Party, Solidarity, Labour and Social Democrats whips will receive a €6,000 allowance.
It is understood that where a party whip already receives an allowance for another payment – such as Fianna Fáil’s Jack Chambers who receives an allowance as a super junior – they will not receive the full whip’s allowance.
