Dáil attendance to be self-declared
NEW guidelines where TDs and senators can declare their attendance records simply on oath to a Peace Commissioner have been drafted and authorised by Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath.
Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl also played a key role in putting together the deal.
The concession has created the scenario where politicians can essentially self-declare their attendance to the Dáil or Seanad.
The Fianna Fáil minister is the line minister when it comes to resolving terms and conditions for TDs, senators and ministers in areas as diverse as expenses, salaries and advisers.
Mr McGrath drafted the proposal in response to concerns expressed by the Ceann Comhairle and the Oireachtas Commission, a body which deals with the issue of terms and conditions for members.
Correspondence to the members from the Commission reveals that the ‘requirement to record attendance [an integral part of the Travel and Accommodation Allowance (TAA) operational arrangements] was suspended from 18 March 2020 to 29 June 2020,’ due to the pandemic.
The email notes that is was in line with the Covid-19 guidance issued by the Government, the HSE and the Chief Medical Officer to help limit the transmission of the virus.
Under this, the email notes: ‘The minister proposed that members who attended Leinster House campus during the suspension period... record the individual days on which they attended via a “witnessed declaration”.
It added: ‘The minister proposed
the declaration be witnessed by a Peace Commissioner or a Commissioner for Oaths. This method has been agreed by the Oireachtas Commission.’
An Oireachtas spokesman confirmed that Mr McGrath had proposed that members avail of a ‘witnessed declaration’ which is overseen by a Peace Commissioner or a Commissioner for Oaths.
The spokesman said: ‘This method has been agreed by the Oireachtas Commission.’
Under the proposal, politicians seeking to ensure that they record a sufficient number of days to secure all of their travel and accommodation allowances can now beef up their attendance figures via a declaration to a Peace Commissioner.
A Peace Commissioner/ Commissioner for Oaths is authorised to take statements. One senior political source noted: ‘They are politically appointed and scattered all over the place: they are the Irish equivalent of an OBE.’
Annual payments range between €9,000 for TDs who live within 25km of Leinster House to €34,065 for TDs who live more than 360km away from the Dáil.
The allowances were a source of astonishment when, during the peak of the pandemic 19 Senators received €240,000 in travel expenses during lockdown despite the Seanad being closed during April and May.
And 48 senators were given attendance and subsistence payments for April and May at an average of more than €4,000 each per month, even though the chamber was shut.
While TAA is paid on the basis of 150 days’ attendance at Leinster House over the course of the year, politicians must register their presence in Dáil Éireann on at least 120 days in order to qualify or face deductions from their allowance.
After the complications of the pandemic the amount of recordable days has been reduced to 108 for TDs and 91 for senators. The Commission, whose members receive a stipend of €9,500 per annum, subsequently warned TDs and senators that: ‘The number of attendance days required by members has not changed.’
It also continues to be the case that ‘where a member does not reach the required number of days, they must refund 1% of the amount of TAA paid to them for each day they are short of the requirement.’
Members have until January 31, 2021 to reconcile attendance for the relevant period in 2020.