TDs claim over €500,000 in expenses in first month of Dáil term

Ellen O'Donoghue

TD claimed more than €567,000 in the first month of the new Dáil term, despite sitting just once on December 18th to elect Verona Murphy as Ceann Comhairle.

It did not sit again until January 22nd, when it failed to elect Micheál Martin as Taoiseach due to a row over speaking time.

TDs can claim between €9,000 and €34,065 a year in travel and accommodation expenses, depending on the distance between their home and the Dáil.

This means the largest claims come from those TDs who live the furthest from the Dáil.

Cork South West TD Michael Collins claimed the most in December, at over €4,530, followed by fellow Cork TD Holly Cairns and Kerry's Healy-Raes at almost €4,479 each.

Dublin-based TDs Jim O'Callaghan and Eoin Ó Broin, as well as Gillian Toole and Aisling Dempsey from Meath, waived the travel and accommodation allowance.

The figures, released by the Houses of the Oireachtas, also showed that senators claimed €126,000 in expenses in December, despite the Seanad not sitting between November and February.

The annual Parliamentary Standard Allowance is paid to members of the Oireachtas on a monthly basis and split between travel and accommodation costs and office costs.