Mr Tom Enright is probably unfortunate in travelling so much between April 1998, and April of this year. The Fine Gael deputy for Laois-Offaly ran up almost £15,000 in expenses for foreign travel as part of his membership of the Council of Europe.
It was this component of Mr Enright's expenses which raised his overall level to almost £45,000 and put him in top spot for expenses claimed by the 225 members of the Dail and Seanad.
While not arguing with the figures, the Fine Gael TD last night said: "It would have been better if the expenses had been dated back to the commencement of the Dail in 1997."
The figures were released for the first time under the Freedom of Information Act. The main political parties had objected to their release. However, the Information Commissioner, Mr Kevin Murphy, said he had "great difficulty in seeing that details of expenses claimed by members of the Oireachtas are any more private than their salaries".
While revealing in many respects, the expenses figures leave many questions unanswered. For example, what explanation lies behind the significant differences between expenses claimed by TDs representing the same constituency?
In Laois-Offaly, along with Mr Enright's £45,000, the second Fine Gael TD, Mr Charlie Flanagan, received £32,315. Fianna Fail's two backbenchers in the constituency, Mr Sean Fleming and Mr John Maloney, respectively claimed £35,824 and £28,030.
The Minister for Health, Mr Cowan, claimed a mere £8,115 although, like other members of the Government, his expenses would be paid by his department.
A wider expenses gap is evident in the five-seat Wexford constituency. The Fianna Fail Junior Minister, Mr Hugh Byrne claimed £6,501. His party colleague, Mr John Browne, received £34,863. The two Fine Gael deputies in Wexford, Mr Michael D'Arcy and Mr Ivan Yates, drew down £40,778 and £22,506 respectively. The Labour Party deputy leader, Mr Brendan Howlin, also a Wexford deputy, claimed £31,531.
Oireachtas members claim expenses under several categories. These include travel and subsistence; an annual £4,000 telephone allowance; a £5,444 once-off constituency maintenance grant; and foreign travel.
The figures released yesterday do not include a secretarial allowance of £5,000; a miscellaneous expense allowance of £4,000 and a constituency travel allowance ranging from £2,000 to £6,400 depending on the size of the area.
The travel and subsistence category probably allows for the most straightforward comparison.
Every TD and senator is entitled to certain travel and overnight expenses within the State. Members who are resident within 15 miles of Leinster House receive a daily allowance of £45. Those who live more than 15 miles away are entitled to an overnight allowance of £96.90, along with mileage expenses.
The current mileage allowance is divided into six categories starting at a rate of £0.682 per mile for the first 2,000 miles. This rate declines to £0.2627p per mile for mileage above 12,001 miles per annum.
The top positions for expenses claimed for travel and subsistence are filled by TDs from outside Dublin. The largest claim came from the Fianna Fail TD for Kerry North, Mr Denis Foley, who received £29,788. He was followed by former Fine Gael minister Mr Enda Kenny from Mayo, who drew down £28,607. None of the six TDs representing the two Donegal constituencies were among the 10 highest claimants for travel and subsistence.
However, it is in this category that constituency differences are most glaring. For example, in the three-seat Tipperary South constituency, Fine Gael's Ms Theresa Ahearn claimed £24,069 in travel and subsistence. However, the Labour Party TD in the same constituency, Mr Michael Ferris, claimed £12,960. The third TD in Tipperary South, Minister of State Mr Noel Davern, claimed no expenses in this category.
From April of 1998 to April of this year, 91 TDs between them claimed £157,171 in foreign travel. The bills for foreign travel by ministers and ministers of state are paid by their departments.
The TDs claiming the largest expenses for foreign travel are Mr Enright, Labour's Tipperary South TD Mr Ferris (£7,635); Fianna Fail's Mr Liam Aylward of Carlow-Kilkenny (£7,588); Mr Brendan Daly, Fianna Fail TD in Clare, (£6,415); and the Dublin Central Independent TD Mr Tony Gregory (£5,670).