Oireachtas members to get higher expenses

Generous new allowances and increased expenses for Dail deputies and senators have been authorised by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern.

A range of items, including overnight allowances, travel costs, secretarial expenses, daily travel and constituency telephone allowances will rise significantly, some by as much as 100 per cent.

Holders of specified positions in both Houses, including party whips in the Dail and leaders in the Seanad, will also receive higher annual allowances.

Legislation passed last month permitted the Government to introduce new expenses by way of statutory instrument. The Taoiseach approved the additional allowances on April 7th.

Under the legislation, which passed all stages in one day, an ordinary TD stood to gain by more than £5,000 a year.

The following day, the Government confirmed it had also agreed to implement the Buckley report, which means a further 3 per cent pay rise for TDs and an 18 per cent increase for Ministers. Combined, the two rounds mean increases of about £7,500 for a deputy.

A TD will receive a miscellaneous expenses allowance of £4,000 a year, a leap from the previous rate of £2,482. Senators will receive £3,000, up by almost £1,400.

Overnight allowances have leapt to £95 for members of both Houses, up from the daily rate of £64.89, for each night the Dail and Seanad are sitting. This can be claimed by members living 15 miles from Leinster House, a reduction from the old 20-mile limit.

Oireachtas members are also entitled to claim a similar daily rate, up to an additional maximum of 25 nights, when the two Houses are in recess.

The flat rate for daily travel to Leinster House for members has increased to £45 from just over £26. This also applies to all members who live within 15 miles of the House. Those residing farther away will be entitled to either the flat rate daily travel allowance or mileage and overnight rates.

Constituency travel is also generously covered by the increases.

Meanwhile, the assistant government whip is to receive an annual allowance of £8,000 while the principal opposition party whip gets £10,000 a year. A sliding scale applies to the smaller parties, with the Labour whip receiving £8,000 and the whips of the Progressive Democrats, Democratic Left and the Green Party receiving £3,000 each.

An annual rate of £10,000 for the Leader of the Seanad is to be backdated to April 7th, while the Deputy Leader receives £5,000 backdated to last August. The opposition leader in the Seanad gets £5,000, backdated to the same date, while the Government Whip receives £3,000, also backdated.

The annual constituency telephone allowance for TDs has doubled to £4,000 while that for a senator has trebled to £3,000.

Each TD can claim a secretarial allowance of £5,000 a year while a Seanad counterpart can draw down £3,750. TDs are also entitled to claim £5,000 - up from £2,722 - each year for constituency office maintenance.