Call for independent reform of expenses

SEANAD REPORT:THE CONTROVERSY over the expenses drawn down by Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue surfaced in the Seanad.

Rónán Mullen (Ind) advocated that a trusted outsider be engaged to take a root and branch look at Oireachtas members’ expenses.

However, Ned O’Sullivan (FF) contended that the House must examine the role that the media was playing in creating distrust of politicians. He agreed that there was a perception among the public about expenses which was not desirable. Mistakes had been made, but they had not all been made by one government or by one party, and they had certainly not been made by one individual who had been very unfairly treated by the media.

Mr O’Sullivan said what had been happening would remind one of the worst excesses of the McCarthy era in the United States, over half a century ago. Since becoming a member of the Seanad two years ago, he had been the subject of seven Freedom of Information requests. People in Leinster House had more to do than to be answering every journalist who had nothing better to do on “ a lazy day” than to delve into parliamentarians’ expenses.

Eoghan Harris (Ind) said that if the Ceann Comhairle had done wrong, according to information which had come to light some weeks ago, his head should have been sought then. He said that the failure to seek that person’s head then meant that he had done nothing wrong. He said a person who had been targeted as an alleged political adviser was, in fact, a cultural adviser.