TDs and Senators claim €9m this year

FIGURES RELEASED yesterday show that TDs and Senators have claimed about €9 million in expenses and allowances for the first 10 months of this year.

TDs accounted for about €7 million in expenses and allowances, with €2 million being claimed by Senators.

The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act to RTÉ, detail the expenses and allowances for all members of the Oireachtas.

The overall amount is down on last year following cuts imposed by Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan.

Further changes in the expenses regime in Leinster House are in the offing, although there have been differences between Mr Lenihan and the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission as to whether all expenses should be vouched in the future.

Excluding former ceann comhairle John O’Donoghue and Leas Cheann comhairle Brendan Howlin, the TD who received the biggest payment for the year so far is Fianna Fáil’s Noel Treacy, who represents Galway East.

He received €81,708 in allowances and expenses up to the end of October.

That figure included an allowance of €13,913 as a committee chairman.

The next highest payment went to Sligo-North Leitrim TD John Perry, who received €69,093.

In third place was Fine Gael TD for Roscommon-South Leitrim Frank Feighan, with €67,370.

In a statement last night, Fianna Fáil took issue with the reporting of the figures on RTÉ which stated that its Kerry South TD John O’Donoghue topped the list for allowances and expenses, with about €117,000.

“This figure was made up of the €80,410.20 Deputy O’Donoghue received as his wage as ceann comhairle and €36,595.07 in expenses.

“The Oireachtas refers to this €80,410.20 as an allowance. This actually is the figure paid as a salary to the ceann comhairle and is subject to income tax.

“When his salary is not included, Deputy O’Donoghue received €36,595.07 in expenses,” the statement added.