Green TD criticises unvouched expenses proposal

THE new Dáil expenses system has been criticised by a TD who says it is wrong that he and his colleagues will be allowed claim thousands of euro in unvouched expenses every year.

Under the new system, which kicks in on March 1, the myriad of existing allowances and expenses for TDs will be replaced by just two payments.

The goal is to streamline the system and provide for greater transparency, with the amounts paid to TDs to be published each month.

The first payment will be known as the Public Representation Allowance, and will cover the costs related to constituency offices, phones, newsletters and similar expenditure.

Under this allowance, TDs who produce receipts will be allowed claim up to €25,700. But TDs unwilling to handle the paperwork can claim a lower sum of €15,000 without having to produce any receipts.

But Green TD Paul Gogarty criticised this proposal, saying he saw “no merit” in allowing €15,000 of expenses to be unvouched.

“Every cent should be vouched. We need to send out the right signals to the public that we are accountable for any expense we incur,” he said.

But this will not be the only unvouched element of the new system.

The second payment will be known as the Travel and Accommodation Allowance, and will cover the cost of travel within the constituency, and to and from Leinster House, as well as overnights where applicable.

This allowance will be set at €12,000 a year for Dublin-based TDs, increasing to €37,850 for deputies living 360km or more from the Dáil.

To qualify for full payment, TDs will have to verify their attendance at the Dáil by clocking in – but they won’t have to produce receipts.

This means that, between the representation allowance and the travel allowance, TDs will be able to claim between €2,250 and €4,404 in unvouched allowances and expenses each month.

Meanwhile, Mr Gogarty’s party leader, Environment Minister John Gormley, has announced a crackdown on conference expenses for councillors.

Under the new limits, the maximum a city or county council will be allowed spend on conferences, seminars and similar meetings each year will be €4,700 per council member.

So if a council had 31 members, for example, its annual budget for conferences would be set at €145,700 (€4,700 x 31).

Mr Gormley said the crackdown was aimed at preventing a repeat of situations where certain councils were spending more than €13,000 per councillor per year on conferences.