TDS AND Senators were paid more than €7.5 million in expenses in the last 10 months of 2010 under the new allowance system introduced last March.
Overall figures for expenses and allowances paid to all TDs and Senators for 2010 have been posted on the Oireachtas website. They show that the 164 TDs in the 30th Dáil in its last year (two seats were vacant) were paid a total of €5.64 million from March 1st to December 31st last. The 60 members of the Seanad received payments of €1.65 million.
If the figures are extrapolated to a full 12-month period, the total expense bill comes to €8.7 million; broken into €6.76 million for the Dáil and €1.98 million for the Seanad respectively.
Based on the figures, the average expenses claim for a TD in 2010 was €40,000 while that of a Senator was €33,000. However, as ministers and ministers of state are paid lower allowances of €16,000 and €10,000 respectively (because of other supports available to them), the majority of rural TDs were paid significantly higher expenses. This is in addition to an average TD’s salary of €90,000.
However, the overall figures are lower than comparable figures from previous years. The total outlay for TDs’ expenses and costs for the 12-month period to December 2009 was €7.8 million while the comparable figure for the Seanad was €2.76 million. The 2010 payments represents a fall of 13 per cent in Dáil expenses and some 30 per cent for the Seanad.
Some 16 TDs from outside Dublin were paid over €50,000 each in expenses in 10 months.
The highest expenses paid to a Senator in 2010 was €39,875 to the former Fianna Fáil member Ivor Callely.
The payment reflected his position that his place of residence was his holiday home in west Cork, which is in a travel and accommodation band (360km or more away from Leinster House) that attracts the highest payment.
The new system, called the parliamentary standard allowance, is based on flat payments under two different headings.
The first covers travel and accommodation and the level of payment depends on how far from Leinster House the TD or Senator resides.
Dublin TDs can claim €12,000 per annum while those in band 12, over 360km from the Dáil, can claim €37,850 under the new annual flat travel and overnight allowance scheme. It replaces the old system where TDs were paid mileage and overnight for each trip claimed.
The second payment is the public representation allowance, which allows a TD to claim €15,000 per annum for office and communication expenses. It is worth a total of €15,000 if unvouched or €25,700, if receipts are provided.
An Oireachtas spokesman has said that allowances were reduced by 10 per cent in August 2009. In addition, mileage rates were cut by 25 per cent at the same time. He said the new system incorporated the reductions.
A number of TDs and Senators made repayments to the Oireachtas for not reaching the required number of attendance days to be paid the full allowance. They were required to be in attendance for 100 days and were required to refund 1 per cent of the overall payment for each day they missed.
The biggest repayment of €12,197 was made by former Fianna Fáil TD for Donegal North East Jim McDaid, which suggested he was not present for at least 50 per cent of sitting days in 2010. His total payment was reduced from €33,233 to €21,035. He made no claim at all for the last two months of 2010, suggesting he was no longer an active TD.
The Limerick East Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea also made a repayment of €5,339 of the €28,101 claimed under the travel and accommodation allowance.
Mr O’Dea resigned as minister for defence in 2010 following a controversy over comments he made about a Sinn Féin councillor in Limerick.
Some TDs also made refunds under the public representative allowance. These were TDs who chose to submit vouched expenses but whose receipts did not cover the amount claimed for.
