THE GOVERNMENT last night announced a radical overhaul of the allowance and expenses for TDs and Senators following months of public criticism over the size and unvouched nature of such payments.
Under the new system, a raft of allowances payable to members of the Oireachtas each year – including mileage, overnight accommodation, office and constituency expenses – will be replaced by a single parliamentary allowance made up of two block payments: one for travel and accommodation; the second a “public representative allowance”.
And for the first time, Dáil deputies and Senators will have to “clock in” to prove their attendance at Leinster House.
They will have to verify that they attend for 80 per cent of sitting days, which works out at 120 days for a TD, each year to qualify for a full allowance.
For each day missed, the member will be docked 1 per cent of the allowance.
The travel and accommodation allowance will range from €12,000 per annum for Dublin deputies to €37,850 for those living 360km or more from Leinster House. Those qualifying for the highest amount would be confined to a number of deputies living in west Cork, west Kerry and Donegal.
Senators will be paid a reduced amount as there are no payments for constituency travel.
The amounts will vary from €7,000 each year for Dublin-based Senators to €32,850 for those 360km or more from Leinster House.
Attendance for 80 per cent of sitting days will have to be verified by TDs and Senators to qualify for the full amount.
The second allowance will allow TDs to receive an unvouched amount of €15,000 per annum or a fully vouched amount of €25,700.
This is paid towards meeting the costs of constituency office expenses including mobile telephones, home telephones, advertising, publishing of leaflets and room hire. Any TD who exceeds the €15,000 threshold will have to provide receipts for the entire amount.
The Department of Finance agreed the new regime with the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, saying it was a radical reform replacing over 40 years of legislation.
A spokesman said the new regime will, at the very minimum, be cost neutral and cost no more than the previous regime. He said that if most TDs keep to the €15,000 figure for constituency expenses further savings will be made.
The basic salary of a TD is €92,672 per annum. The maximum amount payable in allowances under the new system will be €63,550.
That will be confined to a handful of TDs living 360km or more from the Dáil and claiming €25,700 in vouched constituency office expenses.
Last year, under pressure from the Department of Finance, the Oireachtas commission agreed to reduce mileage payments by 25 per cent and all other expenses, including phone allowances, overnight accommodation, and stationery expenses by an average of 10 per cent.
The new annual block payments will reflect those reductions. There was also reluctance from a cohort of TDs to accept any form of attendance verification. But their objections were overcome by the insistence of the department and of Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan.