Absent TDs arise from the ash cloud when expenses beckon

JUST who does God think he is trying to separate TDs from their divine right to lavish expenses?

Absent TDs arise from the ash cloud when expenses beckon

April’s Icelandic volcanic ash explosion may have been classed as an act of the Almighty that temporarily crippled international air traffic, but that is no reason for deputies to miss out on claiming Dáil attendance allowances merely because, er, they did not attend the Dáil.

It may be the Age of Austerity for the rest of us, but it is forever the Age of Entitlement for our hardworking TDs.

Under the “new”, “reformed” system of expenses, deputies can’t claim the full whack unless they bother to turn up and sign in at the Dáil for 100 days a year.

So why let being in another country stop you clocking up the days back in dear old Dáil Éireann?

Under the “new”, “reformed” system of expenses, just because you’re not there doesn’t mean you can’t claim to be there. All you do is write to the Ceann Comhairle and ask to be marked present — even if you were on a different continent at the time.

It is no surprise that Johnny “junket” O’Donoghue was among the five lawmakers requesting to be counted in the Dáil while they were in fact out of the country, unable to fly because of the way the ash trashed air travel.

After all O’Donoghue is the only Ceann Comhairle in the history of the state to be effectively toppled from office due to outrage at his massive expenses bill notched up while “Minister for Fun”.

But, what is more depressing is that the other four Oireachtas members are from Fine Gael, the party likely to be the dominant partner in an incoming alternative Government and the party which has made much play of the current administration’s aristocratically arrogant attitude to public money.

Deputy Fine Gael leader James Reilly, Jim O’Keeffe, Bernard Allen and Senator Paddy Burke may have been dispersed across the Earth due to the volcanic eruption, but they made sure they would be able to achieve bi-location by being recorded as an Oireachtas occupant at the same time.

But, of course, it was all to do with the ash and nothing to do with the cash, according to them.

No, chalking up the 100 days needed to achieve maximum allowance compliance for up to €37,000 was unconnected to their pleading letters to the Ceann Comhairle — it was because they just wanted it on the record that they would really have liked to have been back in rain-soaked Ireland all along rather than stranded in Thailand, Spain, Portugal and the like.

And it is the same story throughout the “new”, “reformed” system of expenses where deputies can still claim €15,000 a year without providing a single receipt under the public representative allowance — and about half of the 166 TDs have elected to do this rather than produce evidence of spending and be able to claim up to €25,700 under the scheme.

Does this mean they are keeping their costs low to assuage an angry electorate — or is it due to the fact that claiming the higher figure would demand proof and could trigger a random audit from Oireachtas authorities? Hmmmm!

The ash only lasted days, but it seems a thick fog still cloaks our “new,” “reformed” Oireachtas expenses regime in a cloud of get-out clauses.

The only thing that is clear is that, like God, our TDs move in mysterious ways whenever their expenses are put at risk.

x

More in this section

Lunchtime News

Newsletter

Keep up with stories of the day with our lunchtime news wrap and important breaking news alerts.

Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited