There is no such thing as a free lunch, or rather a free dinner, as Fianna Fail TDs and Senators discovered yesterday.
Just hours before their annual love-in with the Taoiseach in the Ormonde Hotel in Kilkenny, parliamentary party members received a letter from headquarters asking for an annual u300 £300 donation.
They have been asked to fill out a direct debit mandate to allow the party deduct u25 £25 a month. If all the parliamentary party signed up, this would yield in the region of u30,000 £30,000 for party coffers.
The special two-day parliamentary party meeting kicked off last night with an address to the troops by the Taoiseach, followed by a dinner. "There is no such thing as a free dinner in this party", grumbled one backbencher, who pointed out that u300 £300 would represent almost 1 per cent of his salary.
However, a party source pointed out that already parliamentary party members were paying a contribution by standing order. The only difference here was that the money was in future to be paid by direct debit for good housekeeping.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach said on his arrival in Kilkenny yesterday that the party had received a "mauling" over the O'Flaherty affair, but added the matter was now behind it.