Allowance system overhaul must suit changing face of Dáil

WHEN the then Fianna Fáil finance minister Seán McEntee announced in 1938 he was introducing an allowance for the leader of the opposition, he caused uproar in his party.

But the principle that some subvention was needed to maintain a strong opposition has always been essential to parliamentary democracy, and has stood the test of time.

Consecutive governments ever since have maintained the Party Leaders’ Allowance, although it has been altered, increased, and expanded over the years to include Government parties and Independent TDs.