IF IVOR CALLELY bows to public pressure and quit his seat in the Seanad, he would be comforted by a tax-free lump sum of €158,539, it has emerged.
Figures published today by The Irish Daily Star suggest that Callely would be entitled to three years of his Dáil pension up front, as well as three years of his Seanad pension and a termination lump sum of almost €11,000.
His annual Dáil pension – which he does not currently receive, as a sitting parliamentarian – totals €44,280 per annum because of his eighteen years in the lower house, while his Seanad pension for his three years there amounts to €4,921 a year.
This means that Callely would be given €132,840 in respect of his career as a TD, €14,763 for his time as a senator, and a termination lump sum – all tax tree – upon his departure from politics, totalling to €158,539 in an instant tax-free payoff.
What’s more, the controversial senator would earn up to €25,000 in an incremented termination payment over the nine months following his eventual departure.
Callely would also be entitled to an annual ministerial pension of €6,637 for the rest of his life, as well as his Dáil and Seanad pensions – meaning that separate to his tax-free lump sum, Callely would earn €55,838 in his various pensions every year.
All the figures added together mean that Ivor would make almost €240,000 in the twelve months after he quits – meaning that his inevitable ignominious departure from politics wouldn’t be without its benefits.
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