Labour leader Ivana Bacik and Minister of State Joe O’Brien were among three politicians who had to refund over €1,500 in parliamentary allowances for 2022.
The repayments came as a result of an audit which found they could not provide supporting evidence to justify claiming the expenses in question.
A recently published report by independent auditors on the payment of the Public Representation Allowance (PRA) to TDs and senators found a total of €1,524.89 claimed by the three politicians in 2022 was deemed ineligible for a variety of reasons.
The Houses of the Oireachtas confirmed that the full value of the disallowed expenses had been refunded.
It was the lowest level of disallowed claims under the PRA in recent years, which peaked in 2017 when ineligible claims totalling almost €10,000 by six TDs and senators were identified.
Ms Bacik, TD for Dublin Bay South, had the largest single disallowable expense in the most recent audit, at €1,117.77.
Auditors said the Labour leader had been unable to show relevant documentation to provide evidence that the claim in question fell within allowable expenditure.
They stated the expenditure was ineligible as some costs related to advertising for both Ms Bacik and other political representatives were not fully apportioned or did not fall within an allowable category.
This was a technical mistake on my part, and I was more than happy to make the refund
The Labour leader explained that the error arose from claiming expenses for leaflets, posts and advertisements which she had used to promote a series of local public meetings she had organised in her constituency during 2022.
“The audit determined that a portion of the costs for promoting these events could not be reimbursed as the costs included the advertisement of speakers at that meeting who were also elected representatives to Dublin City Council,” Ms Bacik said.
She added: “This was a technical mistake on my part, and I was more than happy to make the refund.”
The audit also revealed that Mr O’Brien, a Green Party TD for Dublin Fingal, had made an expense claim worth €271.10, which was deemed ineligible.
His party colleague, Francis Noel Duffy – the husband of Minister for Culture Catherine Martin – was found to have made an ineligible claim for €135.42.
However, the audit found combined claims of over €53,700 in expenses by the same three politicians were valid and eligible.
Both Mr O’Brien and Mr Duffy did not respond to a request for comment.
The audit is carried out to establish if elected representatives have valid evidence of vouchers, receipts and bills for expenses paid to them under PRA rules.
A sample audit of 10 per cent of Oireachtas members – 22 TDs and senators chosen randomly – is carried out annually.
Expenses
The latest audit by Mazars, on expenses totalling over €362,000 paid to elected representatives in 2022, examined funding for vouched expenditure carried out in the performance of Oireachtas duties.
The expenditure includes specified office and communications expenses, including rent, office furniture and equipment, stationery, cleaning, telecommunications, leaflets, secretarial support and public relations.
It found 19 TDs and senators were able to show receipts and/or supporting documentation for a total of almost €308,800 paid to them under the PRA.
They included the Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman; former junior minister Josepha Madigan, and former Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy.
The auditors disallowed €885.81 as the cost of the advertisement and newsletter distribution was not claimed on a pro-rata basis with other political representatives who featured in the material. A further €639.08 was deemed ineligible as the costs did not fall within an allowable expenditure category.
While PRA guidelines provide clear information to TDs and senators, the auditors noted there were recurring instances where ineligible advertising expenses were being claimed.
Other problematic areas include sponsorship, ineligible printing of stationery, the hiring of rooms for political party purposes, and incorrectly calculated totals.
Mazars recommended that Oireachtas members be continuously reminded that allowance claims must be “wholly and exclusively incurred in the performance of the member’s duties” and be supported by appropriate back-up documentation.
Receipts
All parliamentarians who receive vouched amounts are required to hold their own receipts and supporting documents for inspection for a period of five years.
TDs are entitled to a vouched maximum allowance of €20,350 per annum, while the PRA for ministers or junior ministers is €16,000 and €12,225 for senators.
Politicians who spend less than the allowance must return any unspent money.
Sixty TDs and senators repaid unspent amounts to the Houses of the Oireachtas in relation to the PRA for 2022, totalling €112,121.
Over the same period, six representatives opted to waive some or all of their allowance.
Separately, the Houses of the Oireachtas confirmed it had received refunds of over €3,500 from politicians over their failure to achieve the required attendance of 120 days at Leinster House during the 2022 calendar year. A further €1,650 was repaid by two members on a voluntary basis.
The refunds relate to the separate Travel and Accommodation Allowance (TAA), which is based on the distance of the elected representative’s normal place of residence from Leinster House.
Oireachtas members must repay 1 per cent of the allowance for each day below the required level their attendance falls.
The Houses of the Oireachtas said all but 12 members of the Dáil and Seanad had achieved full attendance in 2022. In addition, 14 TDs and senators opted to waive some or all of the TAA during the same year.
