The £5.4 million expenses received by TDs and senators seriously understate their non-salary payments from the Exchequer. The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, indicate that the average level of expenses claimed by TDs last year was just under £25,000. However, a document on the cost of being a TD published last week by the House of the Oireachtas Public Relations Office estimated the average payment of expenses to TDs at £41,481.
The difference is because the figures do not include expenses for constituency travel and an allowance for the payment of a second secretary, as well as miscellaneous outlays including advertising clinics and making contributions to local organisations.
These additional expenses are likely to add to the discomfort of 225 members of the Oireachtas who, according to the figures released at the weekend, claimed almost £450,000 a month in expenses between April 1998 and April of this year. This money is largely unvouched and is not subject to tax.
Mr Tony Killeen, who chairs the Members' Services Committee which has responsibility for the Oireachtas budget, said last night: "It may now be necessary to re-examine the expenses system". A Fianna Fail TD for Clare, he told The Irish Times he could "see us going down the road of the State providing office and telephone facilities so that TDs would have nothing to do with the money involved". However, he predicted such a system would end up more expensive as "it could involve over 20 civil servants going through receipts to check and cross-check accounts".
Almost £4.1 million in expenses was claimed by the 165 TDs while the 60 senators received almost £1.4 million. The expenses and allowances were received under five headings: travel and subsistence; telephone; constituency office setup; and on-going maintenance and foreign travel.
Mr Tom Enright, Fine Gael TD for Laois-Offaly, received the largest amount of expenses at just under £45,000, only slightly more than the amount claimed by the Fianna Fail Cork South Central TD, Mr Batt O'Keeffe. Fianna Fail's Mr Rory Kiely from Limerick and Mr Brian Mullooly from Roscommon topped the expenses list for members of the Seanad. They each received over £41,000.
The Oireachtas Press Officer, Ms Verona Ni Bhroinn, said the "expenses to which members are legally entitled are provided to support them in fulfilling their constitutional obligations and representative functions".
Mr Killeen said: "Not many people are saying it, but the submessage in this issue seems to be the suggestion that TDs are profiting from expenses, which is not true".
The Fine Gael TD for Cork South West, Mr P.J. Sheehan, said there were "many hidden costs" associated with being a member of the Oireachtas which were not covered by expenses.
The main political parties had originally objected to the publication of the expenses information which was only released under instruction of the Information Commissioner, Mr Kevin Murphy.
Last night Mr Enright said he had not received any "unfavourable phone calls" about his level of expenses. It is understood the expenses details are now likely to be released on a regular basis, probably every four months.