Doherty may be forced to repay €8k expenses

Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty could be forced to pay back €8,000 to the Oireachtas after being told it is “not appropriate” to use surplus mileage claims to fund a new car.

The Oireachtas has reminded all members of the rules around expense claims after Mr Doherty said he was using a €15,000 invoice from a car he bought last year to retrospectively justify keeping surplus expense claims.

The Donegal TD spent €24,000 of the €33,000 he received for travel and accommodation expenses last year. He repaid €845 to the Oireachtas, leaving a surplus of €8,000.

Last week he admitted he had used this to pay part-time constituency workers and was keeping people off the dole.

He said he did not know this was outside the rules and that if it was he would pay it back.

After being told it was in breach of the rules, Mr Doherty said he would use the invoice from a car purchased last year to retrospectively justify the claim.

His party insisted he did not owe a penny back to the Oireachtas.

However, the authorities said last night that the formula for determining mileage “already includes a contribution towards the replacement costs of a car”.

A spokesperson said: “It’s not considered appropriate for an additional claim to be made within the allowance for the cost of a car.”

Asked whether Mr Doherty or his party had been alerted to this, he said “no member is in any doubt about the regulations as they stand”.

Sinn Féin could not be contacted last night to comment on whether or not Mr Doherty will pay back the €8,000.