Just over €14 million has been set aside for the running of Dáil and Seanad elections that must take place by early next year.
And €3.388 million has been set aside for “termination allowances” for TDs and Senators who retire or lose their seats.
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin gave the figure during a short Dáil debate on the 2016 Estimates for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, which runs the Dáil and Seanad.
He said the Civil Service “expects a lot of casualties”.
Mr Howlin said the cost for the next year of operations was estimated at €130.99 million, some €18.7 million or 16.6 per cent higher than the 2015 costs.
The Minister said election costs of €14.3 million had been included and allowing for that the underlying increase was 4 per cent, taking account of the increased budget for IT projects including new technology in the chamber, legal services and increased security.
Fianna Fáil public expenditure and reform spokesman Seán Fleming said the total cost of salaries, expenses and public representation allowances for TDs and Senators was €30 million, or 23 per cent of the total cost of running the Houses.
“Some people will have it that it costs €131 million to run the Oireachtas when in fact only 23 per cent of this goes to TDs and senators and this includes running constituency offices and everything involved in it.”
Mr Fleming noted the sum set aside for “termination allowances” and said: “I’d love to know if the mandarins who worked out this figure knew precisely how many of us will not be here in the next Dáil”.
He asked: “Have they doodled around and put names on the figures? . . . Perhaps it is the percentage of people who did not make it back into the previous Dáil.”
Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh raised his repeated concern that many members of the Opposition were not represented on the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.
He said the commission should be “fully reflective so that all of the parties in the House, and that includes staff, play a role” in ensuring the services “are the best possible”.
Independent TD Catherine Murphy said only Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil were represented while Sinn Féin, the Technical Group and other Independents were excluded.
She said the group had almost was comparable in size to Fianna Fáil “which has in the order of 20 staff provided for the running of parliamentary activities. The Technical Group does not get anyone.”
