Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I agree with Deputy Ó Caoláin that this House must do everything it can to reassure the electorate which put us here that everything we do is being done in the public interest and no other. In respect of the issue of committees, I agree with Deputy Ó Caoláin. Allowances to Chairs have been cut in half and allowances to Vice-Chairs and convenors have been abolished and, as I understand it, staffing levels to committees have been reduced significantly by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission by non-replacement of staff who have moved on, been reassigned and so on. The committees carry out very valuable work and they should be allowed to complete their work programme. As I stated in reply to an earlier question, this system is one of the ways in which citizens can engage with Members of Parliament, have their voices heard and put their views across. Very often their views inform proposed and upcoming legislation.

Sometimes we sell ourselves short and it may not be widely known but, similar to every other member of the public service, Members, Senators, Ministers and so on have taken a cut in pay. The Minister for Finance has reduced the level of allowances and expenses very significantly. The budget for foreign travel has been cut by 50% and people are very careful about the trips they make anywhere overseas or outside this city. Some issues should be understood more widely. In respect of expenses, I wholeheartedly agree that the sooner the better both Houses agree that, as a matter of course, on a monthly basis or whatever, the allowances and expenses paid to Members should be simply put up on the website of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. Other issues concerning a composite allowance and so on should be also brought to a conclusion sooner rather than later. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility for a system to be found for verification of attendance and to give effect to such a system.

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