Row over senators’ office expenses
Senators have made a submission to Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin on claiming their office rental costs out of existing allowances. The submission by the Seanad Committee of Procedure and Privileges is being considered just weeks ahead of a referendum on the future of the Upper House.
Senators rejected weekend reports that they had specifically requested extra funds for their offices, which reportedly could amount to €300,000.
The office of Paddy Burke, Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, said a submission had made no request for additional expenses.
The comments came after Fine Gael TD Simon Harris criticised the proposal from senators for changes to the expenses regime in order to run offices.
The Wicklow representative told RTÉ it was “absurd” for senators to have offices in a constituency as their role was in the Seanad. Mr Harris said the submission showed senators simply wished “to replicate work of TDs” but that they did not have the mandate to do that.
However, Labour senator John Whelan defended the submission for office funding, saying members of the upper house needed to meet the public. The demand was for one-off payments to fund offices in home towns, he told RTÉ.
Since he was elected, Mr Whelan had been advised to set up his own offices, and had done so in Portlaoise.
“This senate sits three days a week, Tuesday to Thursday normally, and it doesn’t sit all day long,” said Mr Whelan. “Other than that, we do have to have a place from which to work.”
He addedit was also important that staff members had somewhere to work. “We have a small two-room office in Portlaoise where we base ourselves and we do our work,” he said.
Mr Whelan said it was not appropriate for senators to use their homes as a base from which to work.
The Labour senator claimed €9,000 last year in expenses. Senators can claim up to €12,000.
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