The Green Party has called on the Minister for the Environment to stop the €12,800 gratuity payment to TDs and senators for giving up their dual mandate council seats.
Otherwise, he should give it to all Oireachtas members and not just those who resigned between May and September this year, said Mr Paul Gogarty (Dublin, Mid-West).
Mr Gogarty described the payment as "nothing more than a bribe", but the Green Party would benefit from the payments if it were given to all Oireachtas members.
Its members gave up their council seats when elected to the Dáil in May 2002.
The Minister of State, Mr Noel Ahern, however, said the Green Party "has never been shy in proclaiming its opposition to the dual mandate, yet neither is the party shy on this occasion in trying to avail of the benefits available".
He said that Green Party councillors resigned their local authority seats after gratuity regulations were made "in the full knowledge that they would not qualify for a gratuity".
They could have remained on as councillors until May 4th this year and benefited from a gratuity, but they chose not to do so in line with party policy.
Mr Ahern said the Green Party "certainly took credit" for its policy not to hold a dual mandate. "Moreover, never once did they raise the question" or "lay claim that they should benefit from the gratuity arrangements. Yet they now seemingly seek to change the rules to suit their own particular circumstances."
Mr Gogarty, who got embroiled in some controversy some months ago when he said that TDs were paid too much, stated that "TDs who give up seats on principle should not be penalised for having standards. At the very least, they should not be put at a disadvantage by the Minister's bribing of other members of the Oireachtas."
He added that the fairest thing to do was "not to pay the money out at all and put it towards education and health". Offering money "as an inducement to those who would not freely give up their seats is a disgrace".
