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Monday, 15 February 2010 22:03 |
Revised system of expenses allowances for Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas
A major reform of the system of expense allowances for members of the Houses of the Oireachtas was announced today.
The reforms, proposed by the Oireachtas Commission and agreed by the Minister for Finance, have cross-Party support. They will substantially increase the transparency of the allowances system and provide information to members of the public on how their public representatives are funded.
The new system will replace 40 years of legislation with a single, transparent and verifiable parliamentary allowance system to cover the parliamentary and representation costs of Deputies, Senators and Ministers. This major reform is in addition to the substantial reductions imposed on Oireachtas members’ expenses in 2009.
- Reductions which have already been made to Oireachtas expenses include:
- Mileage allowance reduced by 25%
- Overnight Allowance reduced by 10%
- Daily Travel Allowance reduced by 10%
- Constituency Office Allowance reduced by 10%
- Constituency Travel Allowance reduced by 10%
- Miscellaneous Expenses Allowance reduced by 10%
- Telephone Allowance reduced by 10%
- Committee Chairpersons allowance reduced by 50%
- Committee Vice Chairpersons and whips allowance abolished
- Chairpersons of Sub-Committee allowances abolished
Furthermore, Oireachtas members who are former office-holders have had their pensions reduced by 25% and from the start of the next Dáil and Seanad no serving member will be eligible to receive a ministerial pension. Members no longer qualify for long service increments and those currently in receipt of them will forfeit them from the start of the next Dail and Seanad. |