Creighton accuses FG and Labour of taking ‘top-ups’

Former minister of state Lucinda Creighton has accused Fine Gael and Labour of taking "top-ups" of almost €600,000 a year from the taxpayer for TDs who are no longer members of the parliamentary party.

The Dublin South East TD described it as the “deliberate and orchestrated use and abuse of taxpayers’ money to undermine the constitutional role of elected Deputies” and said it was “completely unacceptable”.

She said the party leaders should come before the public accounts committee to address the issue in the same way that charities were expected to do so.

'Moral high ground'
Ms Creighton told the Dáil: "Some of us have taken to the high moral ground and requested that charities which receive up to 80 per cent of their funding from the taxpayer come before the Committee of Public Accounts in order to explain how those funds are spent, how much their CEOs are paid".

She added: “Why should the Committee of Public Accounts not account to this House and to the people on how taxpayers’ money is funding the operation of political parties in this State?”

Ms Creighton was speaking during the ongoing debate on the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill which reduces the party leaders’ allowance and the allowance to Independent TDs. It also abolishes the severance payment to Ministers and Ministers of State when they cease to hold office.

Speaking about the legislation, Ms Creighton said the fact was that parties “continue to receive their allocation of funding even if individual members choose to leave the party or were expelled from the party”.

'Repulsive'
She described it as "repulsive" that despite cuts of almost €9 billion in 2011 and 2012, party funding for Government parties actually increased.

In a sharply-worded address, she also hit out at Minister for Environment Phil Hogan, accusing him of using the funding the parties retained for the five former TDs to unseat them at the next election.

She also claimed Mr Hogan was “trying to obfuscate in the interests of ensuring that he can circumnavigate the SIPO [Standards in Public Office] recommendation with regard to accounting at branch level, we have no idea how the funds to which I refer are being spent”.

But replying to the debate, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said "this allowance, the parliamentary activities allowance, is intended to support our party political system – that was why it was introduced in 1938. It is the raison d'être for its introduction and was argued for." Mr Howlin said "the party decides what to do with the funding, not one individual or one small group".