Wallace denied Dáil statement

Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett has rejected a written request by Independent TD Mick Wallace to make a personal explanation in …

Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett has rejected a written request by Independent TD Mick Wallace to make a personal explanation in the Dáil tomorrow afternoon.

Mr Wallace had sought an opportunity to make the address on his €2.1 million settlement with the Revenue Commissioners for under declaration of VAT.

The Dáil Committee of Members Interests will hold a special meeting on Wednesday at noon to discuss Mr Wallace’s case.

The committee, chaired by Independent TD Thomas Pringle, is expected to examine whether or not Mr Wallace contravened ethics legislation since his election to Leinster House in not attempting to repay the VAT.

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It has not been established if the committee will sit in private or in public.

Meanwhile, the Dáil technical group has issued a statement saying Mr Wallace is leaving the group.

"After requests from Independent members of the technical group to Deputy Mick Wallace that he step back voluntarily from the group forthwith as a result of last week's revelations regarding his tax affairs, he has today agreed to do so," the statement said.

The whip of the group, Independent TD Catherine Murphy has formally requested that the Government Chief Whip schedule time this week to address this matter, after hearing Mr Barrett turned down Mr Wallace's appeal to make a personal statement.

The statement from the group was signed by 10 Independent deputies in the group: Stephen Donnelly, Luke "Ming" Flanagan, Tom Fleming, John Halligan, Finian McGrath, Mattie McGrath, Catherine Murphy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Thomas Pringle, Shane Ross. The United Left Alliance members of the group are not signatories to the statement.

Ms Murphy, who represents Kildare North, said Mr Wallace had "voluntarily removed" himself from the technical group, following a request from Independent members of the group. "I made it very clear to him that the issue of his tax affairs was a major cause of concern to the members of the technical group," she said.

Ms Murphy said she met Mr Wallace in Leinster House today. "I talked to him directly face to face and I made it very clear and he listened to what I had to say…a couple of hours later he came back and he said that he was going to voluntarily step aside from the technical group," she said.

She said it was "very unfortunate" that the Ceann Comhairle had not been able to facilitate Mr Wallace's request to address the Dail. She said she had subsequently appealed to the Government Chief Whip to schedule time to address the matter.

"I think that there's an expectation out in the public that that would happen," she said.

Ms Murphy said she would support an inquiry by the Committee on Members' Interests.

Separately, Mr Wallace claimed one of the lowest amounts of expenses and allowances of any Dáil deputy last year.

Interactive table of TDs' expenses

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The deputy is from Wexford but declared Dublin as his principal residence in 2011.

He also chose to submit unvouched claims, which are paid at a lower rate than vouched expenses.

In all, the Wexford TD claimed €22,821 for the period between the general election in February 2011 and the end of the year.

With the exception of Eamon Maloney, the Labour deputy for Dublin South West who has decided to claim no expenses, Mr Wallace was among the group of Dublin-based TDs who claimed the lowest expenses.

If he had declared Wexford as his principal place of residence and submitted vouched expenses, Mr Wallace could have claimed close to €50,000 for the 10-month period.

Under new rules introduced in recent years, TDs claimed expenses under two headings; travel and parliamentary expenses.

TDs have a choice of choosing a lower unvouched allowance or submitting receipts in order to claim a higher vouched rate.

The first payment is a set rate that is paid for travel to and from Leinster House as well as travel expenses within the constituency.

The payment is based on the distance the TD lives from Leinster House. The parliamentary payment covers office expenses and well as other costs such as printing.

Only 45 of the 166 deputies in Leinster House claimed unvouched expenses during 2011, according to an analysis of data supplied by the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Notwithstanding the lower rate, a number of TDs who chose unvouched expenses were still in a position to claim close to €50,000 or above.

Harry McGee

Harry McGee

Harry McGee is a Political Correspondent with The Irish Times

Mary Minihan

Mary Minihan

Mary Minihan is Features Editor of The Irish Times