Disgraced Callely still gets €1k a week pension

Ivor Callely will continue to receive a pension of almost €1,000 a week from the State as he begins a five-month jail term for fake expense claims during his time as senator.

The junior minister between 2002 and 2005, who was appointed to the Seanad by the former taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, fraudulently claimed a total of €4,207.45 in mobile phone expenses from the Oireachtas.

Fianna Fáil so far hasn’t commented on whether he should hand back his Oireachtas pension which was worth €49,137 last year, reduced to €47,087 this year.