New rules would force TDs to ‘clock-in’

NEW Oireachtas expenses rules would see TDs “clock-in” at the Dáil using a swipe card or registration system.

The move is intended to ensure deputies actually attend parliament on the days they claim allowances for being there.

Many TDs bridled at the idea as an affront to their “dignity,” but the public record has been insisted upon as a key plank in making Oireachtas expenses regime appear more transparent and less open to abuse.