Poll: Should politicians benchmark their pay against the 'real world'?

The ‘Real Pay’ politician says they should, saving millions each year, but does this understate the workload of a TD or minister?

A NEW PETITION launched today asks the public to support proposals which would see political wages benchmarked against those of the private sector.

The ‘Real Pay’ petition wants the salaries of ministers and TDs to be compared to those of the private sector, with ministers taking pay cuts from €170k to €120k per year, and TDs going from €92k to around €60k a year.

The idea is that managers in the private sector work as hard as public representatives, and so politicians should get similar pay – but politicians have long defended their pay by saying their jobs are much more demanding on their lifestyle.

Politicians not only have to work long hours in Dublin, but are also usually expected to hold constituency clinics at weekends and regularly complain that their jobs demand highly antisocial hours.

So – what do you think? Should politicians’ pay be benchmarked against the pay offered by the private sector in the ‘real world’?

Poll Results:

Yes (1797)

No (176)

I don't know (41)

Yes
No
I don't know

Read: Campaign launched to benchmark politicians’ pay against ‘real world’ >

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