Deputies have 20 days to count cost of election expenses

ALL Dáil deputies have been given official guidelines on how to calculate the cost of State services they received for free during the last election campaign.

Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling means these services, such as use of office space and Oireachtas envelopes, must now be included in their official election expenses.

If they breach election spending guidelines, they could face court challenges over the legality of their election.

The spending limits for candidates are €25,000 for a three-seat constituency, €32,000 in a four-seater and €38,000 in a five-seater.

Deputies have 20 days from today to calculate their amended expenses, which they must file to the State’s ethics watchdog, the Standards in Public Offices Commission.

The following cost has been placed on services and facilities in Leinster House by the Office of the Oireachtas:

Secretarial assistants: €608.15 per week

Office space in Leinster House: €164 per week (large office) or €131 per week (small office)

Pre-paid Oireachtas envelopes: €410 (for 1,000 standard envelopes) or €1,230 (for 1,000 A4 envelopes)

Photocopying: €12.70 (for 1,000 copies)

Stationary supplies: €19 (for 2,500 sheets of A4 paper) or €11 (for 500 sheets of A3 paper)

Parking in Leinster House: €2.50 (per hour) and €25 (maximum daily charge) and €5.50 (overnight stay)

Phone usage: Same charges as Eircom (€4.2 cent per minute in Dublin area, €7.7 outside Dublin).

However, there is no record of individual calls made by deputies or their officials

Leinster House printing facilities: €15 per 1,000 sheets.

Each election agent will now have to calculate the additional expenses clocked up by deputies during the general election campaign, from April 25 to May 17.

The Standards in Public Offices Commission has accepted the cost estimates outlined above as a reasonable assessment of the value of Leinster House’s services and facilities.