Kenny’s €43k top-up pay ‘fully compliant with the law’

Enda Kenny has insisted that Fine Gael was “100%” compliant with the law when paying him a top-up to his Dáil salary from public monies.

The Taoiseach was responding to a report yesterday about Fine Gael’s use of the party leader’s allowance while in opposition.

The allowance is a form of state funding for parties in the Dáil which they use for parliamentary activities.

It is understood that, during Mr Kenny’s time as opposition leader, Fine Gael used a portion of the allowance to provide him with an annual €43,000 top-up on his Dáil salary, which would been around €106,000 at the height of the boom.

But Mr Kenny said yesterday that Fine Gael had always paid an allowance to its leaders while in opposition.

And he insisted that his party complied fully with the laws surrounding state funding.

“Let me assure you that the Fine Gael party has always paid a salary and allowance to leaders in opposition, and Fine Gael’s reporting of that, both in terms of its transparency and its compliance with the law, is fully compliant, and 100%.”

Mr Kenny was speaking in Boston during the final day of his three-day visit to the US.

On Thursday night, speaking at an Irish consulate reception, he stressed that his Government had restored stability to Ireland and was focused on ensuring the country’s economic recovery.

As part of that speech to local business and political leaders, Mr Kenny declared of his administration: “There’s nobody on the take here.”

When asked yesterday about that comment, he declined to elaborate on whom he had in mind when making it. He would only say: “What I mean by that is that this Government and all its members are fully focused on the job that we’ve been given — that’s fulfilling our mandate in the Programme for Government that we’ve signed on.”

Asked if he had been speaking with the Mahon Report in mind, he replied: “No, certainly not. I have no idea when the Mahon Report will be published… I look forward to it being published in any event.”

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore also defended the “top-up” payments he received as Labour leader in opposition.

Mr Gilmore and his deputy leader Joan Burton had their salaries bumped up by a combined total of €22,000 in 2010.

Mr Gilmore claimed the annual subsidy is not a “top-up” payment but is given in recognition of the duties and responsibilities of party leaders.