TD Social Democrats Gary Gannon have been forced to repay more than €1,000 in expenses after recording the lowest Dáil turnout of any TD last year – despite parliament sitting in his own constituency for a most of the year.
r Gannon only logged 108 days of attendance, which is less than the minimum 120 days required to claim the full Oireachtas Travel and Accommodation Allowance (TAA) to which he is entitled.
The Dáil has spent much of 2021 sitting at the Convention Centre, which is located in Mr Gannon’s central constituency in Dublin, to comply with public health restrictions during the pandemic. He only returned to Leinster House, south of the city, in September last year.
No other TD has had as low an attendance rate as Mr Gannon for the purposes of claiming Oireachtas expenses, although five Sinn Féin TDs, including the party’s deputy leader in the Dáil, Pearse Doherty, did not also failed to meet the 120-day minimum and had to reimburse thousands of euros in expenses to Oireachtas authorities among themselves.
The amount a TD receives in TAA payments is based on how far they live from Leinster House and ranges from €9,000 for those in Dublin to €34,065 for those living over 360km away.
TDs must repay 1pc of the allowance for each day below the 120 minimum. Mr Gannon confirmed he had repaid €1,080 – 12% of the €9,000 he was entitled to – but insisted on the fact that he was present more than the record shows.
“Between the speaking time in the Dáil, the committees and the votes, I am convinced that I have been present for much more than the number of days planned,” he said.
“I may have forgotten to log in on occasion, or couldn’t because committee meetings were online, but I had no problem repaying the stipend.”
Sinn Féin’s Cork South-Central TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire had to repay €3,136 of his €31,365 travel allowance as he missed 10 days, while fellow party Cavan-Monaghan TD Pauline Tully had to reimburse €2,293 after registering for only 112 days. “I have two children, so when they’re not in school, I have to be home,” she says.
Sinn Féin’s Tipperary TD Martin Browne had to repay €1,800, while Mr Doherty was one day away from the 120-day minimum due to the Covid-19 contraction last December, meaning he should have repaid €320 of the €32,035 TAA allowance he is entitled to as a Donegal TD.
His party colleague in Dublin West, Paul Donnelly, had to repay €360 after missing four days.
Another Dublin-based MP, Joan Collins, the TD Right to Change for Dublin South-Central, had to repay €90 after also missing the 120-day minimum by one day.
