Oireachtas allowances to remain unchanged

Payments for party whips and committee chairs will remain unchanged despite an overhaul in Oireachtas allowances due in autumn.

Brendan Howlin, the public expenditure and reform minister, will bring proposals before Cabinet when it returns after the summer recess on changes to the way parties and Independents receive funding.

The formal document will mainly focus on changes to the leaders’ allowance of €41,152 per TD and €23,383 per senator.

It will not recommend any changes to the €9,500 a year allowance paid to the chairpersons of committees, or the allowances ranging from €4,000 to €19,000 for whips.

A total of 18 TDs and senators receive state allowances for roles within their parties — or independent grouping — mainly as whips or assistant whips.

In the Seanad, a payment of €4,000 is made to the whip of the six-member group of the Taoiseach’s independent nominees and to the whip of the six-member University panel.

In the Dáil, the Socialist Party and the People Before Profit Party, which both have just two TDs each, are entitled to €6,000 a year for a whip’s allowance but both have chosen not to claim it.

Fianna Fáil is paid an allowance of €19,000 a year for its party whip, Sean Ó Fearghail, and €9,000 a year for its assistant whip, Michael Moynihan.

A party spokesperson said this money does not go to the individual TDs but to a central party fund.

As well as the Government chief whip, Paul Kehoe who is paid the salary of a junior minister, Fine Gael has an assistant whip, Joe Carey. Unlike in Fianna Fáil, he holds onto the €7,500 allowance that comes with this role.

Labour whip Emmet Stagg is also the assistant Government whip and receives an allowance of €15,000 for the role. Labour’s deputy whip, John Lyons, receives an allowance of €6,000.

Sinn Féin gets a €6,000 allowance which it says is “controlled and drawn down by the whip, Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh”.

The party does not draw down the €3,000 allowance which it is entitled to for its deputy whip.

A spokesperson for Mr Howlin said there has already been “substantial changes” to the committee and whip allowances in recent years and therefore there are no proposals to alter them.

Dáil costs

Fianna Fáil party whip: €19,000

Assistant Government whip: €15,000

Fianna Fáil assistant whip: €9,500.

Fine Gael assistant whip: €7,500

Labour assistant whip: €6,000

Seanad deputy leader: €9,500

Government whip in Seanad: €6,000

Fianna Fáil leader in Seanad: €9,500.

Fianna Fáil whip in Seanad: €6,000

Independent group of nominee senators’ whip in Seanad: €4,000

Independent group of University senators’ whip in Seanad: €4,000

Members of Oireachtas Commission: €9,500

Chairpersons of committees: €9,500.