SEVERAL Fine Gael TDs are furious at Enda Kenny for not consulting them before announcing his intention to take a 5% pay cut. They say his “gimmick”, designed to embarrass the government, has instead damaged Kenny’s support base in the party.

The Fine Gael leader’s salary will be €106,581 next year and a voluntary 5% cut represents €5,329. He will not take any cut from his ministerial pension, worth more than €14,000 last year, or his Fine Gael salary of €50,000.

Several of his TDs said they would not follow his example. “My salary is not up for negotiation with Enda Kenny or anybody else and I will not be taking any pay cut,” said Michael Ring, his fellow Mayo TD.

“I didn’t know he was going to make the announcement. Nobody did. A decision like that should have been discussed with the parliamentary party first. It has put people under great pressure because we’re getting phone calls from the media asking us what we’re going to do about our salary.

“I have no problem with a pay freeze for the next two years, but I think it would be a very foolish thing to ask people to give money away.”

Charles Flanagan, justice spokesman for the party, said he was not supportive of taking a pay cut that would “simply contribute towards buying Mary Coughlan’s make-up or putting Fas executives in a five-star hotel for the night”.

Brian Hayes and Michael Creed also said they would not be taking a voluntary pay cut, while a number of other TDs are undecided.

James Reilly, the health spokesman, said that while he thought the move “showed great leadership”, he felt it put a number of party members in a difficult position. “It would have been better if it had been discussed with the parliamentary party first,” he said.

“I think everyone’s circumstances are different. Some people have small children, some are relying solely on their TD salary. I would imagine that some people are feeing pressurised to take the cut.”

While most of the TDs contacted yesterday were publicly supportive of Kenny’s decision, the majority said he should have consulted them first. Several said there was fury over what the party leader had done.

“There’s a lot of anger about it and it’s done him a lot of damage in the party,” said one senior figure. “It’s dangerous to start talking about other people’s salary cuts without consulting them first.

“I spoke to at least 12 people yesterday and only one of them thought it was a good idea. People feel like they’ve been put in a box now. The feeing is that if he’d discussed it with the front bench first that it might have been agreed on, but this was not the way to do it. And I’ll be saying that to him when I meet him.”

Another TD said he believed that a lot of people were “really cheesed off” about the move. “It’s going to be very divisive,” he said.

Lucinda Creighton, spokeswoman for foreign affairs, said there were “mixed views” about the move: “It’s fine for people who are in a position where they can afford it, but others will find it more difficult and I think people do feel a bit of pressure now to take the cut.”

Michael Noonan, a former leader of Fine Gael who learnt of the announcment only in a news bulletin on Friday night, said he believed a collective decision on the issue would be taken at the party meeting this week, with all TDs agreeing on whether to take a pay cut.

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