FINE GAEL intends to proceed with legislation to eliminate ministerial pensions in the Dáil next week even though just two serving TDs have still not given them up.
A party spokesman said yesterday that unless the remaining TDs, Noel Treacy and Jim McDaid, back down before the Dáil resumes on Wednesday, the party will push ahead with its Bill.
The Fine Gael move will involve an amendment to the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act, 2009, which will have the effect of removing with immediate effect ministerial pensions from all sitting Oireachtas members.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen has stated on a number of occasions that the advice of the Attorney General is that it would be illegal to compulsorily take away pensions from sitting Oireachtas members.
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has already announced that the entitlement of sitting TDs and Senators to hold ministerial pensions will be eliminated after the next election.
Following the recent controversy over the ministerial and Dáil pension held by EU commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, 29 serving politicians have agreed to forgo their ministerial pensions.
The latest politician to give up his ministerial pension yesterday was Fianna Fáil MEP Liam Aylward, who wrote to Mr Lenihan waiving his right to a pension during his term in the European Parliament.
The 57-year-old MEP is a former junior minister at the Department of Education and the Department of Forestry, and he received a pension last year of €12,261. Mr Aylward will continue to receive his TD’s pension of just over €50,000 a year.
A spokesperson for the MEP said that as a long-serving TD with many decades service, he had contributed to his Dáil pension.
Another Fianna Fáil MEP, Pat The Cope Gallagher, said he would make a decision over the weekend about his ministerial pension, while Galway East TD Noel Treacy said he would reach a decision in the next two weeks.
Fianna Fáil Donegal North East TD Jim McDaid, who is not a member of the parliamentary party, has said he will not give up his ministerial pension.
Fianna Fáil Senator Terry Leyden, who gave up his €21,761 pension as a former minister of state, pointed out that some prominent former politicians were drawing ministerial pensions while being paid by State agencies.
Separately, Alan Dukes, chairman of the nationalised Anglo Irish Bank, said he did not intend to give up his ministerial pension, which was worth €45,470 last year.