Jackie claims €290k expenses since 2005
Wednesday October 28 2009
TWO of Kerry's Oireachtas members have emerged among the country's biggest earners from expenses in the last four years.
Killarney Fine Gael Senator Paul Coughlan claimed €249,516 in expenses since 2005, the second highest amount received by the country's 60 senators.
Independent Kerry South TD Jackie Healy Rae was the sixth highest expenses claimant in the Dáil since 2005, claiming a total of €290,662 in the last four years.
The Kilgarvan-based TD, one of John O'Donoghue's fiercest critics during the debate over his expense claims as minister and Ceann Comhairle, claimed an average of €72,500 a year in expenses since 2005 with the majority accounted for by claims for travel and subsistence.
The county's other largest claimants were in North Kerry where Sinn Fein Deputy Martin Ferris claimed €277,273 and Fine Gael's Jimmy Deenihan claimed a total of €254,010.
Next in line, though with a significantly lower bill, is their North Kerry constituency colleague Fianna Fáil's Tom McEllistrim who claimed €143,884 over the four-year period.
The figures, obtained and published by online political blogging site thestory.ie this week, also show that John O'Donoghue made significant claims during the period.
While serving as minister for Arts Sport and Tourism and Ceann Comhairle, and benefiting from expenses in both roles, Deputy O'Donoghue also claimed a total of €124,009 in Dáil members' expenses. These payments included allowances for the upkeep of his Cahersiveen offices and for secretarial staff.
Figures were also published for Kerry's newest representatives in the Dáil and Seanad.
Fine Gael's Kerry South TD Tom Sheahan had the lowest expenses bill of the county's six TDs at €115,903. However, as he was only elected to the Dáil in May 2007, the period involved in his claims is considerably shorter than his Kerry colleagues in Leinster House.
From June 2007 to the end of the year Deputy Sheahan claimed a total of €43,987. The following year the total expenses claimed by Deputy Sheahan rose to €72,564 over 12 months.
Listowel based Fianna Fáil Senator Ned O'Sullivan, elected to the Seanad on the Labour panel in June 2007, claimed €90,287 since his election.
His Kerry Fianna Fáil colleague, Kenmare's Mark Daly who was elected to the Seanad in 2007 on the Administrative panel, had claims totalling €61,928.
In all the county's nine Oireachtas members have claimed a combined €1,607,572 in expenses since 2005, all of which was paid on top of their Dáil and Seanad salaries.
The payments include annual allowances for upkeep of constituency offices, payments to cover secretarial assistance, allowances for travel — both in Kerry and to and from Leinster House — and further allowances to cover the cost of phone and Internet use.
- SIMON BROUDER
