CallS have been made for an overhaul of Dáil allowances for deputies following the revelation that former Fine Gael Deputy Joe Carey was paid more than €70,000 in allowances while he was on sick leave. Under current Oireachtas rules, a Dáil deputy is entitled to be paid a salary and a monthly allowance while they are on certified sick leave.
Mr Carey was paid a Travel and Accommodation Allowance (TAA) of €30,685 and a Public Representation Allowance (PRA) of €20,350 in 2023, which totalled €51,035.
The former Fine Gael Deputy suffered a serious life-changing illness in March of 2023 and remained out on sick leave for 17 months, until he resigned from public life on August 26, 2024.
It is estimated that the former Clarecastle deputy was paid €72,284 in allowances while he was unable to work as a public representative for these 17 months.
Dáil records show Mr Carey was paid a monthly PSA of €4,252 in 2023 and 2024 up to August. There is no record of any payment for September following his retirement.
The current Dáil salary is €113,679 following a series of incremental increases from €98,113 on October 1, 2020.
The PSA is an annual allowance that comprises TAA and the PRA. Members receive their PSA monthly in arrears.
Independent general election candidate, Matthew Moroney, has called for the next Dáil to change the rules covering sick pay as he believes no deputy should be paid expenses for travel if they are not able to work.
Wishing Joe Carey a full recovery, Mr Moroney said the rules should be seriously examined and revised.
Independent Ireland’s Eddie Punch said that staff working in the ICSA would be paid based on the number of kilometres travelled weekly on a vouched system of expenses that were regularly checked.
Mr Punch said most workplaces pay mileage on civil service rates based on the distance travelled and not on an allowance system.
Acknowledging it is more expensive for rural deputies to travel to Dublin, Mr Punch said the current way travel expenses are calculated is questionable.
Joe Carey received €45,754 in 2020 and €51,035 in allowances in 2021, 2022 and 2023, totalling €198,859 during this period.
TAA covers the costs associated with travel to and from Leinster House, overnights and, for TDs only, other travel expenses including constituency travel. Senators receive no payments for constituency travel.
It is based on the distance of a deputy’s primary residence from the Dáil and is not paid following the submission of vouched expenses for the exact distance travelled on a daily or weekly basis.
Deputies are paid the TAA allowance under a distance band system. For deputies living within 240 kilometres and 270 kilometres from the Dáil, they are paid €30,685 annually in monthly allowances.
This is calculated on a sliding scale with a 1% applicable for each band per day a deputy fails to meet the minimum attendance of 120 days in the Dáil. Even when deputies are certified sick they are entitled to receive a TAA payment under current Oireachtas rules.
When Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne (Ind)was out on maternity/sick leave, she was still entitled to be paid her Dáil salary.
Leonora Carey (FG) said her brother, Joe ended up in University Hospital Limerick after a life-changing event left him with a long-term cardiac condition requiring constant care under a consultant.
“Joe submitted his sick certificates as required by the Oireachtas sick leave policy and received his allowance as per this policy. He didn’t submit any claim. Joe did what he did to comply with the terms and conditions of this policy,” she said.
Ms Carey said the lack of maternity legislation for women in the Oireachtas needs to be addressed to encourage more women to enter public life.
She said Deputy Wynne, Senator Roisín Garvey and Mr Carey received an allowance when they were out on sick leave, which they were entitled to.
In an interview with The Clare Champion, Ms Carey said she didn’t know how this sick leave payment is officially recorded and calculated as she isn’t familiar with how it works.
She assumed the sick leave policy would be reviewed at the start of the next Dáil, as there were a large number of Dáil deputies on sick leave during the last Dáil term.
“I have had a lifetime when Dad and Joe were elected when the public sense is that TDs get paid too much,” she said.
She pointed out that she wasn’t part of or privy to any previous negotiations on sick pay for Oireachtas members.
When Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne went on maternity leave in February 2022 she had to claim sick leave payments as there is no official maternity scheme for Oireachtas members.
Ms Wynne told The Clare Champion last week she didn’t attend the Dáil from February to July 2022 while she was on maternity leave but did some work in her Dáil office for a few days in August to get ready for her return in September.
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.