Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This matter was the subject of meetings with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin. While he was very sympathetic towards us, nothing happened. I do not think we were even talking about offices but rather about some small areas where Senators were looking for parity of esteem with their colleagues in the other House.These matters should be dealt with and should never have happened. There was a variation between what people in the other House and the Seanad could do. In one ridiculous instance, a Senator could not buy a laptop and claim it under expenses whereas a Member of the Dáil could. These simple matters should be addressed, and I hope they will be addressed as a matter of urgency by whoever makes up the next Government. There are restrictions and anomalies that must be addressed.