Political expenses should be real – not a racket

IVOR Callely, in his statement to the Seanad on June 2, indicated that the politicians’ expense regime is complex and there are anomalies in the system.

If an expenses regime is so lacking in transparency, how can the public have a scintilla of confidence in it?

If it is difficult to explain an expenses regime designed by politicians for the benefit of themselves in terms that the general public would regard as fair, reasonable and appropriate. That alone is a powerful argument against such a system.