Pressure mounts on O'Donoghue over expenses row

Unprecedented pressure was heaped on Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue today after a senior Government minister branded the expenses controversy a running sore that needed dealing with.

Green Party leader John Gormley, whose party is locked in intensive talks with Fianna Fáil to save the Government, said a culture of lavish spending of taxpayers’ money by public representatives was unacceptable.

The Environment Minister said the Irish people have every right to be angry about the continuing stream of revelations, which have centred around Mr O’Donoghue.

“It’s time now that we deal with this issue,” he said.

Mr Gormley was responding to demands from Opposition party leaders for explanations about the latest disclosures of Mr O’Donoghue’s spending.

Records placed in the Dáil library on Friday – the day of the Lisbon Treaty vote and 16 days after the Ceann Comhairle promised to reveal them as soon as possible – showed he had claimed more than €200,000 in expenses, on top of his salary, over the past two years.

Mr Gormley refused to comment solely on Mr O’Donoghue’s expenses, claiming he did not want to personalise the issue, but admitted: “We are not getting value for money.”

Describing the expenses regime as “far too loose”, the Environment Minister said if the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission does not overhaul the system, it will become an issue in the negotiations for a continued coalition Government.

“If it’s not dealt with by the Commission and the other political parties, we hope to deal with it in the Programme for Government, because it is a running sore,” he said.

“It is unacceptable and I believe the people have every right to be angry about this.”

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny widened his offensive by calling on the Greens to “step up to the mark” and collapse the coalition to force a general election.

“It has just gone too far,” he said.

“There’s a seething unrest out there among the country, there’s a division between public and private (workers) in this country which is most unhealthy, and this is exacerbated by continuing avalanches of (expenses) revelations.”

Mr Kenny has already called on his three party members of the Oireachtas Commission to demand Mr O’Donoghue pay back expenses not directly linked to his office, including flights for his wife and advertising for clinics.

The Fine Gael leader also questioned the number of staff working for the non-political office of the Ceann Comhairle, particularly the need for a special advisor, Dan Collins, on a salary of €100,000.

But he added: “This is not just about John O’Donoghue, this is about a culture that has grown up over the last 12 years, where there’s neither responsibility nor accountability for anything.”

Health Minister Mary Harney refused to comment on the controversy but revealed she had cancelled trips to two conferences she was due to attend this year in light of tough economic conditions.

“I think there has been huge changes in the past number of months, particularly this year, in relation to ministerial travel and expenses given the serious financial situation we find ourselves in,” she said.