Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is another example of hidden expenditure within Dáil Éireann. Many people are unaware of it. I am sure most people would agree that a political party should not be allowed to claim allowances in respect of Deputies and Senators who have been expelled from that party. I hope the Minister can consider the matter. Perhaps he will propose an amendment to this Bill on Committee Stage to deal with this issue.

It has not been pleasant for me to be expelled from a party for which I worked very hard over many years. Those of us who were expelled from Fine Gael were almost immediately removed from the committees on which we had worked hard and to which we had contributed. Less than 24 hours after I voted against the Government, my profile was removed from the Fine Gael website and my details on the Oireachtas website were changed to reflect my new status as an Independent Deputy. Initially, we were even denied speaking rights in this Chamber. This meant I was unable to contribute to important debates that I knew would have an impact on my constituency. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ceann Comhairle for providing another slot in this House to facilitate me and my Reform Alliance colleagues, including Deputies Mathews and Timmins, who had been denied the right to speak.

I am glad we are able to contribute to important debates and particularly debates that have a significant impact on my constituency. I no longer have the powerful backing of a parliamentary party behind me and do not have the access to funding for research that would assist me in my role as an elected representative. It all happened extremely quickly, but I was fully aware that it might happen as a result of my vote. I knew it was more important to stick to my principle and the principles of my party that I had signed up for. Having more politicians stand up for what they believe in would help address the public's concern over politicians not keeping their promises. A measure should have been included in the Bill to ensure this practice ended and to stop political parties from continuing to benefit financially from expelled Members.

Deputy McGrath talked about respect and that politicians need to lead by example. It was immoral that many former Ministers walked off with significant severance payments and pensions. The Minister needs to make every effort possible to cut the pensions of former Members who led the country over the cliff into the economic crisis, leaving it up to the current Government to pick up the pieces.

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