Clare TDs receive almost €17k in expenses for month in which Dáil sat for one day

Clare's four TDs received almost €17,000 between them in expenses for the month of December alone, a month in which the Dáil sat once. 

Details of the unvouched Parliamentary Standard Allowance (PSA) payments from December have been published. They show that TDs received €567,000 in expenses automatically for the month, having sat in the Dáil once. 

The Dáil sat on December 18 to elect Verona Murphy to the role of Ceann Comhairle. It did not sit again until January 22 when the election of Micheál Martin as Taoiseach was derailed over the speaking time row.

The Parliamentary Standard Allowance is an annual allowance paid automatically monthly to members of the Oireachtas, on top of their €113,000 a year salary. The PSA is made up of the Travel and accommodation allowance (TAA) and public representation allowance (PRA).

The public representation allowance covers costs associated with members’ work as public representatives — such as office rental and leaflet printing.

READ NEXT: Seven-year planning saga comes to an end as Lidl secures permission for new Clare store

The figures released this week show Joe Cooney (Fine Gael), Cathal Crowe (Fianna Fail), Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) and Donna McGettigan (Sinn Fein) each received €4,225 on top of their salary for December. According to the Oireachtas website, the expenses were paid on December 20, 2024.

TDs are entitled to claim between €9,000 and €34,065 a year in travel and accommodation expenses, depending on the distance between their home and the Dáil with different bands based on distance to the Dáil set out. 

All four Clare TDs are included in band 6 for the purposes of the TAA payment.

TDs must register their attendance in the Dáil on 120 days to claim the full rate of Parliamentary Standard Allowance.