Seanad costing taxpayer €50,000 an hour

TAXPAYERS fork out nearly €50,000 for every hour the Seanad sits.

With many senators fighting a last-ditch battle to avoid its abolition, the figures are likely to increase pressure on the Government to fulfil its pledge to do away with the upper house.

The Seanad met for a total of 613 hours last year, and although its running costs are difficult to separate from the total €120 million annual bill for the operation of Leinster House, they are estimated at €30m. By that reckoning, the cost per hour to the taxpayer of the Seanad sitting is €48,939.

When the 24th Seanad met for the first time on May 25 it gathered for two and a half hours, elected a new speaker and then adjourned for a full week.

Some senators work outside formal sittings, such as on Oireachtas committees.

The Government is committed to holding a constitutional referendum within the next two years on the future of the Senate.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said before the general election he wanted the upper house abolished, as it was expensive and ineffective. There have been calls from within Fine Gael and the Seanad since then for the upper house to be reformed rather than done away with.

Campaigners for Seanad reform want a third choice in the referendum for a democratically-elected chamber with a clearer role as a checking mechanism for the Dáil.

The Seanad sat for 97 days in 2010 and has been embroiled in a series of controversies over expenses claims.

Despite the Seanad not sitting in February, senators claimed €157,000 expenses.

FG senator Paddy Burke, Cathaoirleach of the upper house, pledged to create the most positive image possible for the Seanad. He said he believed its costs to be closer to €25m a year, adding: “There is a price for democracy; this is the second chamber and the commissioners are doing everything possible to reduce costs further.”