The issue of "mercs and perks" raised its head in 1967, when the Ceann Comhairle refused to take a Mercedes because it was being "discarded" by another minister.
A clearly annoyed Ceann Comhairle, Patrick Hogan, wrote to the Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, in August of that year to complain that he was being refused a new Mercedes car.
The Labour politician's Vauxhall Viscount had broken down and he said the Minister for Justice had promised him a new Mercedes. But he was then told that he would be given the Mercedes being used by the Minister for Labour when that minister received his new car. That car had 57,000 miles on the clock.
"I feel it necessary to write to you personally so that, for once and for all, the persons dealing with the allocation of state cars will be disabused of the idea that any Chairman of Dáil Éireann would allow such a derogation from his position, during his tenure of office, that he would accept as a replacement for the car allocated to him, a car which had been discarded as unsuitable by another user," he wrote to Mr Lynch.
Mr Hogan said there was an attempt to differentiate between the chairman of the Dáil and other users of State cars. "If I had acquiesced in the arrangements I should, quite clearly, have been left with a car discarded by a minister."
His complaint was forwarded to Peter Berry, secretary at the Department of Justice. In an internal note, Mr Berry pointed out that there was not a great deal of difference in performance between the Mercedes, Viscount and Ford Zephyr Zodiacs in the ministerial fleet. However, there was a "prestige value" attached to the Mercedes and "users who have little to complain of do complain immediately they hear that new cars - particularly Mercedes - are on order".
He added that "on a number of occasions in past year the Ceann Comhairle was very much on the alert when new cars were being allocated and attempted to establish a priority for himself."
"On one occasion he presented himself at Garda Headquarters and demanded a new car from the commissioner after he had been refused by the minister (Mr Haughey)".
Charlie Haughey "firmly indicated" that it was his function to decide on the allocation of new cars and Mr Hogan complained to the Taoiseach. However, Mr Haughey held firm.
Jack Lynch wrote back to Mr Hogan assuring him that there was no attempt to differentiate between the Ceann Comhairle and other ministers and he pointed out that the Tánaiste's car had a higher mileage than the one being offered to Mr Hogan.
However, the Ceann Comhairle wrote to Mr Lynch again to complain of the "act of gross disrespect to the rights and dignity of Dáil Éireann" and said the Tánaiste's mileage was "totally irrelevant".
The issue of a state car also became irrelevant a few months later when Mr Hogan resigned as Ceann Comhairle on November 7 th. He died less than two years later, aged 83, after a political career that spanned more than 40 years.
