MORE THAN 100 TDs and Senators claimed expenses to which they were not entitled between 2007 and 2009, according to documents obtained under freedom of information legislation.
The Houses of the Oireachtas says it wrote at the time to the politicians concerned to notify them of the mistakes made in the submission of their expenses. It also referred the issue to an Oireachtas internal audit report.
Among the errors uncovered are cases where politicians attempted to claim for committee meetings they had not attended, and claims submitted for Dáil attendance by TDs who were abroad.
TheStory.ie website, which obtained the information, said it showed that the Oireachtas was writing to politicians consistently, checking that particular overnight claims were justified.
One TD was prevented from claiming expenses for a committee meeting to which she had sent her apologies. Another deputy sought to claim for eight overnights – each worth €130 – while away on an official trip in Thailand, New Zealand and Australia.
A number of TDs received multiple letters from the Oireachtas in relation to expenses claims which were deemed not to be in order.
In a statement, the Oireachtas said it operated a robust and meticulous administration of TDs’ and Senators’ expenses. Every application was fully vetted and no payments were made until it was satisfied that each claim was consistent with Department of Finance regulations.
The documents, which were originally released to the Sunday Tribune, do not cover Ministers, whose expenses are paid by their departments.
