Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has indicated he will forgo a ministerial severance payment of almost €90,000 if he is re-elected to the Dáil.
Mr Martin said ministers who stay on as TDs after the election should not be entitled to the once-off payment. He said it had been agreed that none of the outgoing Fianna Fáil ministers who are re-elected would avail of the scheme.
"I believe there is a basic principle that severance should only be paid to those who lose their jobs. For this reason, and following discussions, I have informed colleagues that those who are elected to the 31st Dáil will be required to waive their ministerial severance payments,” he said.
Fianna Fáil deputy leader Mary Hanafin had indicated yesterday that she would retain the payment. However, she said she would be willing to forgo the severance payment if the scheme was changed for everybody.
The seven existing Fianna Fáil Ministers would have been entitled to the payment once a new government is elected. At the moment it stands at €88,745.
“I have made it clear since my recent election that this crisis is too serious for politics as usual and that if we are serious about avoiding a repeat of the mistakes of the past, we must fundamentally reform the way we carry out political business," Mr Martin said.
"It is clear that the issue of politicians’ pay is one that attracts significant anger from the public and is an issue that continues to distract attention and debate away from what I believe to be the deeper question of real reform," he said.
Fine Gael today claimed Mr Martin has been "shamed" into giving up his severance pay-off and said all outgoing ministers should give up such payments. "The people receiving the severance payments represent a rogue’s gallery of those who have brought financial ruin upon our country. They should simply give it up," said the party's deputy finance spokesman Brian Hayes.
“Micheál Martin also said that ‘he had not thought about’ the issue of his and his Fianna Fáil colleagues’ massive severance payments. This goes to show just how profoundly out of touch Fianna Fáil is and exposes the complete shame of his political reform agenda.”
Party colleague Richard Bruton was also critical of Mr Martin delay in refusing to take the ministerial severance payment.
"The notion that Ministers who have created a crisis of such proportions in our country that have brought ruin on many families should walk away from that with huge sums in their pockets is simply an affront to ordinary people. And its about time that they saw the ludicrous nature of taking money out of the exchequer at a time of such appalling crisis," he said.
Sinn Féin justice spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh said the payment should not have been given in the first place. “Anybody who is of working age shouldn’t be receiving a State pension, pure and simple. That has to change."
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said yesterday that the severance pay arrangement had been in place since 1992 and the payments had been accepted by departing ministers from all parties.
The other Ministers who were due to receive the payments if Fianna Fáil goes into opposition are Pat Carey, Brendan Smith, Eamon Ó Cuív and Mary Coughlan. Mr Martin has been entitled to it since he resigned as minister for foreign affairs last month.
Some leading members of the Opposition have benefited from the severance payment in the past. They have included Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, Richard Bruton and former Labour leader Ruairí Quinn. Fine Gael last week said it would abolish severance pay for ministers leaving office.