CEANN COMHAIRLE John O’Donoghue’s controversial foreign travel arrangements and expenses bill in his previous role as a government minister “haven’t been acceptable”, Green Party chairman Senator Dan Boyle has said.
There had been justifiable public disquiet about the type of expenses that had been “legitimately” claimed, Mr Boyle told the Breakfast Show on Newstalk 106 -108fm.
“When I say legitimate, it’s been sanctioned obviously. So they were applied for and they were paid out, so someone within the system obviously believed they were legitimate. Whether they were acceptable is a different question,” he said. “I think it’s obvious that they haven’t been acceptable, that they don’t accord with the type of standards that people believe should apply in public life.”
“The Ceann Comhairle’s position can only be dealt with within the Dáil. I’m a member of the Seanad.
“And I think it’s further complicated by the fact that the organisation of the Houses of the Oireachtas is by the Houses of the Oireachtas commission which he himself chairs,” he said.
A spokesman for Mr O’Donoghue last night said he had no comment.
