Politicians' payments could cost €26m

Termination payments and pensions to politicians who retire or lose their seats in the general election could cost between €24 million and €26 million, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission has estimated.

Secretary general of the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas Kieran Coughlan told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee yesterday that it was projecting in its financial estimates that up to 80 TDs or Senators would not be returning after the election.

He said that this was prudent and that 83 members had either retired or lost their seats in 2002. The commission anticipated paying out €4.7 million this year and €1.51 million next year in termination payments.

Mr Coughlan forecast that pension payments to politicians who retire or who are not returned could cost up to €12.8 million.

Depending on their length of service, deputies who retire or lose their seat can qualify for a termination payment of up to 75 per cent of their monthly salary.

Mr Coughlan also said that the commission and the Office of Public Works were working on a plan which involved "expanding the footprint" of the existing Parliament Buildings and the possible construction of a new chamber in time for the 100th anniversary of the first Dáil in 2019.

In reply to questions from Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins, he said the professional view was that the existing Dáil chamber would not be amenable to modernisation in relation to areas such as information technology.

Mr Coughlan also suggested that with an increasing population the number of members of the Dáil could increase.

Mr Coughlan also said that plans to develop an underground car park beneath Leinster lawn had not progressed as quickly as had been thought.

He told committee chairman Michael Noonan it had been planned to construct a 500-space car park under a public-private partnership arrangement. The car park could be used by the public at weekends.

Mr Coughlan said that almost €4 million had been spent by the commission on legal fees between 2004 and 2006. These generally related to inquiries pursued by Oireachtas committees.

He told Fianna Fáil TD John Curran that more than €1 million had been spent on legal fees in relation to the inquiry into Judge Brian Curtin. Legal fees relating to the Abbeylara inquiry had cost €1.8 million, he said.

Mr Coughlan said the commission was working on a strategy to improve public understanding of the work of the Oireachtas.

He said an opinion poll found that "well over half of the population does not regard the work of the Houses of the Oireachtas as very important". It also found that "20 per cent of the population can make no attempt to describe the work of the Houses".