Watchdog to probe misuse of Oireachtas envelopes

THE abuse of some of the 4.75 million postage-paid Oireachtas envelopes issued to TDs and senators every year is set to be probed by a parliamentary watchdog.

The demands for an investigation by a Dáil committee follows the admission by a Fianna Fáil councillor that he forged a letter from the Taoiseach endorsing his candidacy and sent it out to voters ahead of the local elections using several thousand Oireachtas envelopes.

Each of the 166 TDs and 60 senators gets a postal allocation of 1,750 prepaid Oireachtas envelopes a month, adding up to a total of 21,000 envelopes each a year.