Members of the Oireachtas should be entitled to holidays even though the Dáil, in particular, sits for only 90 or so days a year.

However their constituents are entitled to know they're on holiday without the details.

TD's and Senators should be subjected to a time clock and paid an hourly rate .

Of course Not. We are going through some tough times and these people want to take early holidays.
I wish I we could take early holidays and go to some exotic place but we can't because we are broke.

Not only should they not be allowed to take holidays when the oireachtas is sitting, when it is not they should be whipped through the streets and fed nothing but black bread and cold tea.

A bit extreme, but some would nearly have it so.

I certainly think they should be in work when the dail sits, thats the easy part of the job.

Originally Posted by gatsbygirl20

Like teachers, TDs and Senators get long holidays.

In teaching you are expected to get sick, get married, die, act as bridesmaid or best man, during your long summer holidays, and asking your colleagues to cover for you because you need time off during the school year is very much frowned upon.

This can be annoying sometimes, as for example when you have to ask 8 teachers if they will try to take a class each for you on a day in May when you need to attend a family wedding.

But them's the breaks. The upside is that you have free time that other employees can only dream about, even if there is less flexibility.

With TDs it should be the same. They should only absent themselves because of an emergency, during the time when the Dail is sitting.

And they should have enough respect for democracy, the Oireachtas, and their voters to always attend when they are supposed to be there.

Having said that, once they are on official holidays they should be left strictly alone by the media, and should not be phoned by journalists who want to know where they are spending their summer holidays this year. That is absolutely their own business.

Alternately, teachers should get paid a turning up fee for turning up every morning in class.

Their ''Summer'' is long enough as it is. Thats how I see it. And a greater attendance also would be better. At least show us yous care enough to turn up more!! Would swear they where College lectures on a Morning after a night on the town very few in and they leave whenever it suits!! Do your jobs like everyone else has to do!!

Originally Posted by ruserious

Their salary should be dependent on the number of days they show up.

The more they turn up the more damage they do, I'd happily pay the useless fnckers not to turn up.

The less time they are in the House the better . They cause more havoc and problems than they fix .The less time they are in there , the less bul************************ laws and regulations can be put into force

I think the country might be stand a better chance of solving its problems if the whole lot of em stayed away all year.

Originally Posted by David Cochrane

A number of Oireachtas members, Senators in particular have been taking holidays of late, while the Oireachtas is sitting and conducting business.

So it raises a question, especially given the holidays that the Oireachtas members get from the end of July (the Dáil rises next Thursday i understand - to return in late September) - should TDs and Senators be expected to attend the Dáil and Seanad on the days it sits, or should they be free to take holidays?

If the Oireachtais were to conduct itself as a proper organ of government and sit for the normal working year as all other businesses in the state have to do then TDs could take their holidays in the normal way subject to party whip approval etc.

However as Ireland,s current Oireachtais is not fit for purpose I object to TD,s taking any holidays at all at any time.