Sinn Féin Councillor Anthony Kelly has described as “scandalous” the proposal from the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to offer Oireachtas members a ‘golden handshake’ of €7,500 to vacate their seats in advance of the 2004 local government elections. Cllr Kelly said:
"While Sinn Féin welcome the abolition of the dual mandate, something that we have been calling for, for some time, the proposal to offer a sweetener of €7,500 to sitting Oireachtas members is simply scandalous.
"For the government to use public money in this way to sweeten their own Oireachtas members and to smooth the path for their successors on local councils who would be co-opted in their places in advance of the local elections is outrageous.
"The ease with which the government can offer this handsome pay-off to their own disgruntled backbenchers contrasts very clearly with the struggle by the workforce of Wexford Electronix to secure a fair redundancy payment.
