Seven TDs and Senators had to return funds to the Oireachtas after an audit of the Public Representative Allowance (PRA) for 2023 found they were unable to show receipts or claimed for spending that fell outside the allowed categories.
A combined sum of more than €7,000 was repaid by current and former office holders in respect of the allowance, which is paid at an annual rate of €20,350 to TDs, €12,225 to Senators and €16,000 to Ministers.
The PRA forms part of the Parliamentary Standard Allowance system of expenses for Oireachtas members. It can be used to cover costs such as office rent, rates, conference attendance, signage, office furniture, stationery, telephone bills, room hire, advertising and newsletters.
Independent auditor Forvis Mazars conducted an audit for 2023 for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission and chose 22 of the 220 Oireachtas members for examination. It found that 15 of the 22 were able to show relevant documentation in respect of all €279,123 in allowances they claimed.
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However, in respect of seven TDs and Senators, it found they were unable to show sufficient receipts or relevant documentation within allowable expenditure categories. They also found that some expenditure was not incurred in the relevant period.
The report, completed last year, was published by the commission last week. It found that €115,593 in allowances paid to the seven members was supported by documentation or fell within allowable categories.
Another Fianna Fáil heave that wasn’t
A total of €7,088 was disallowed among the seven politicians, which the auditors said was repaid to the Oireachtas. All seven were contacted for comment.
Pauline Tully, then a Sinn Féin TD for Cavan-Monaghan, now a Senator, repaid a total of €3,066 of her PRA of €19,500 in 2023. The auditors noted that she was unable to show relevant documentation, within allowable expenditure categories, for the allowance.
Former Sinn Féin TD for Tipperary Martin Browne repaid €1,728 in respect of disallowed PRA payments.
Fianna Fáil Senator Fiona O’Loughlin repaid €1,255 following the audit. She said she retained a constituency office, though no longer a member of the Dáil, and put some of the rent against her allowance. As she was a member of the Upper House, she said this was not allowed. “I paid it back from personal funds,” she added.
Former Green Party TD Francis Noel Duffy had €469 disallowed as it could not be shown to be eligible for the PRA.
His Green colleague and former TD Patrick Costello repaid €265. He said he paid €265 for a leaflet drop at the end of 2022, but paid for it in January 2023. The audit found he should have included that expenditure in his 2022 PRA.
Fine Gael TD and Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy had €168 disallowed. He said it was for sponsorship of a community event for which no document was generated.
Former Fine Gael TD Richard Bruton repaid €140, which was found ineligible for the PRA. Contacted for comment, he said: “It was a small misclassification on an item of expenditure.”
