The mutters of outrage that reverberated around the country's dinner tables yesterday when details of the expenses of TDs and senators were published would have climbed a few decibels further if the full facts had been revealed.
For the figures released so reluctantly under the Freedom of Information Act told only part of the story. Details of Dail-based allowances were, indeed, fully and properly given. But, as John Bruton once famously remarked: you have to ask the right question.
The right question in this case would have required all allowances and expenses, including constituency-based ones, to be revealed. If that had been done, then the average payments made to TDs and senators would have jumped by about 30 per cent. Instead of having top-of-the-range expense claims of £44,700 from rural TDs, the figure could be as high as £58,000.
The underestimate arose because details of constituency allowances had already been published and therefore did not have to be revealed for a second time. Paradoxically, attention was drawn to the higher figure by Oireachtas members themselves as they sought to protect the basis for an imminent pay claim of 20 per cent.
For weeks now, fear and loathing have stalked the corridors of Leinster House as politicians prepared for the disclosure of their private financial affairs. And, as TDs probed the murky waters of tax evasion and DIRT taxes, through the Dail Committee of Public Accounts, they were well aware of the spotlight swinging in their direction. To put it mildly, the press was not flavour of the month.
The Joint Committee on Broadcasting and Parliamentary Information went for a preemptive strike. Two days before the poo was due to hit the fan, it released a barrage of figures and argued that its members were running their affairs at a loss. The expenses and allowances provided, they said, simply did not cover average expenditure.
The committee provided average expense figures, based on Sunday's disclosures and sums already released. Average claimed expenses - most of them unvouched and tax-free - came to £51,047 for a rural TD with a constituency office last year, they reckoned. The figure fell to £42,428 for a Dublin TD with a constituency office. And for rural and Dublin TDs without an office the average figures were £40,603 and £31,848 respectively.
Expenses made public yesterday under the Freedom of Information Act only averaged about £30,000 for TDs and £23,000 for senators.
Having released its own figures - and shot itself in the foot - the committee went on to maintain: "Any perusal of the figures will indicate that no profit ensues to members from their expenses and disabuse any notion that expenses surreptitiously enhance salaries".
Hah! Even a casual perusal of the figures would indicate that some elected representatives are using them for that purpose. And, in a political system where local authority travelling expenses are seen as a further "perk" for many Oireachtas members, who should be surprised? Our elected representatives are poorly paid. At £38,000 for a TD and £24,000 for a senator it is not an attractive or remunerative career option. Especially given the uncertainty of tenure and the back-breaking, seven-day constituency workload that invariably comes with the turf.
Members feel badly done by and are determined to improve their situation in next year's review of payments for judges, politicians and senior civil servants. A 20 per cent increase was mooted some weeks ago and Charlie McCreevy didn't turn a hair. In fact, the Minister for Finance actively encouraged the pay claim on the grounds that Oireachtas members had been afraid to pay themselves properly in the past.
Public opinion is a powerful antidote to change, however. And if the electorate becomes overheated on the issue of Dail and Seanad expenses, no government will move to radically increase Oireachtas salaries.
Four years ago Dail members tried a similar smash-and-grab exercise and submitted a 20 per cent pay claim to the special committee on higher remuneration in the public service. And in spite of supporting professional assessments of their increased productivity, they were awarded 3 per cent, in addition to the terms of the national wage agreement. That is why there is such sensitivity over expenses at the moment. The very structure of the expenses, along with their unvouched and tax-free nature, make them an integral part of Oireachtas pay.
The differentials in pay between TDs and senators are also reflected at expense level. The senior politician gets a £4,000 telephone allowance; the junior, £3,000. A TD is permitted £4,000 for travelling within his constituency and a future £4,000 in miscellaneous expenses. A senator gets £3,000 in expenses and no local travelling expenses. And while the cost of constituency secretaries might be expected to be uniform, a senator can only claim £3,700, as against £5,000 for a TD.
Oireachtas members - like those in any other profession - claim expenses with varying vigour and have different workloads and responsibilities. No doubt all claims can be justified. But there are interesting variations. In Cork city, for example, the level of claim by individual TDs rises from £20,000 to £44,000, not allowing for internal constituency travel, secretarial expenses and miscellaneous allowances. And in Dublin, it ranges from £14,000 to £26,000.
At a time when the Dail Committee of Public Accounts is exploring the phenomenon of tax evasion in Irish society, the Government might give some thought to providing elected representatives with a modern salary structure, which does not rely on generous, tax-free expenses.