Sir, - Your front page report of December 18th entitled "£2.4m expenses in six months for TDs, Senators" is misleading in a number of significant details in its reference to me.
Your reporter asserts: "the largest expense claims over the six months to October 20th were made by Mr Michael O'Kennedy of Fianna Fail. The Tipperary North TD received in excess of £33,000". At the time you published that report you had available to you the official record from the Parliamentary Office which clearly showed the expenses claimed in my case were for a nine-month period from February 1st, 1999 to October 20th, 1999, and that the net figure paid to me arising from those claims was £29,540.03 in view of an overpayment which I drew to the attention of the Parliamentary Office.
I appreciate that this figure would still seem exorbitant over a nine-month period of claim and accordingly I issued a statement simultaneously with the release of the official data which stated: "the largest figure of £15,444.00 refers to a once-off constituency office grant of £5,444.000 (payable to all deputies on production of actual receipts who set up an office in their constituency), and an annual office maintenance allowance of £5,000 for 1999 and arrears of £5,000 for 1998".
Other newspapers saw fit to include this relevant information in their reports. For the record most, if not all, of my colleagues would have claimed for and received the office grant and annual allowances since 1997 at latest, as is their perfect entitlement. I did not submit my claim until 1998/'99.
Finally, as the official figures show the actual travel and subsistence expenses paid to me for domestic and a small element of foreign travel for the nine-month period in question was £9,086.03.
Freedom of information is a very commendable principle as long as no relevant information is withheld! - Yours, etc., Michael O'Kennedy, TD,
Nenagh, Co Tipperary.