Mark Brennock details some allowances given to members of the Dáil and Seanad in the wake of the accusation by Paul Gogarty TD that they are subject to slack monitoring
Deputies and senators receive significant allowances on top of their annual salaries for attendance at the Oireachtas. These allowances are paid on foot of expense claims submitted by Oireachtas members. The system "operates on the basis of trust", said an Oireachtas spokeswoman, although there are some checks carried out by the Oireachtas finance unit.
Members of either chamber living less than 12 miles from Leinster House are entitled to claim an attendance allowance of €61.53 for every day they attend at the House. They can claim this for five days each week when the Houses are sitting and when they are in recess. They are only entitled to claim for days they actually attend, but there is no "signing in" procedure to determine who was in Leinster House on a particular day.
Members living more than 15 miles from Leinster House can opt either for this attendance allowance, or an overnight allowance of €139.67 a day as well as mileage for travel to and from the House. This mileage rate is €1.07 a mile for the first 4,000 in a year and 50 cents a mile for every one over 4,000.
The overnight allowance can be claimed for attendance at the House when it sits or for attending a committee of which the TD or senator is a member. It can also be claimed for up to five party meetings, and up to 25 other days when the member attends Leinster House for reasons other than the sitting of the Dáil or Seanad.
It can be claimed for the night before and the day of such attendance. No accommodation receipts are required. This system also operates on trust.
The Oireachtas spokeswoman said the finance unit does make cross-checks to see if members were away on business or did attend committee meetings. However, the system operates substantially on trust because there is no procedure for signing in.