Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

The Government decided on taking office in March 2011 to reduce the salaries of An Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Ministers with immediate effect. The reductions were implemented on a voluntary basis pending the passage of the necessary legislation giving statutory effect to the reductions. Section 6(c) of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Amendment) Act, 2011 provides the legislative basis for the pay reductions from 1 January 2012.

The gross annual salaries now applicable to An Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Ministers amount to €200,000, €184,405 and €169,275, respectively. The gross salaries indicated are inclusive of the pay element for a Deputy amounting to €92,672. The effect of these reductions is that the gross annual salary of An Taoiseach has been reduced by nearly 30% since December 2009, and that of the Tánaiste and Ministers by nearly 25% over the same period.

Since 1 May 2011, Cabinet Ministers with the exception of the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Justice and Equality now use their own cars on official business. All Ministers are now paid for official mileage up to 96,540 kilometres or 60,000 miles per annum. Ministers of State have used their own cars on the same basis since 1984. Ministers, including Ministers of State, may appoint two civilian drivers, the salaries for whom are paid by the Minister's respective Department. At the time the change was made, it was estimated the savings to be achieved by Cabinet Ministers using their cars would be approximately €4 million in a full year.

Ministers do not receive overnight payments while in Dublin. Ministers on overnight business away from their home or headquarters may claim the vouched cost of a hotel room, including tax and up to 15% in respect of any service charge. They may also claim an overnight subsistence allowance of €72.66 which is half the civil service Class A overnight rate of €108.99, increased by one third. Slightly higher rates apply in the case of travel to the USA and Canada.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

As with all Members of the Oireachtas, Ministers may receive the public representation allowance element of the parliamentary standard allowance. Under the public representational allowance, Ministers may claim an unvouched amount of €12,000 per annum or a fully vouched amount up to €20,000 per annum. The purposes for which this allowance may be used includes expenses related to constituency offices, home telephones, newspaper advertising, distribution of leaflets, newsletters, conferences and other matters related to their duties as a public representative. From 1 February, additional secretarial support as well as public relations, certain information technology and training services are included within the scope of this allowance. The overall cap remains unchanged. Since the commencement of the parliamentary standard allowance, Ministers' Departments are responsible for paying the cost of telephones in Ministers' constituency offices.

While it is not possible for me orally to go through a full list of the headings under which costs incurred are recouped by Ministers, I am arranging for the material to be made available to the Deputy directly. The Government has introduced a range of changes to the regime of payments and allowances paid to Government Ministers which has resulted in significant financial savings to the Exchequer. It is my intention to continue to ensure that the greatest value for money can be achieved in relation to payments and expenses of this nature on an ongoing basis consistent with ensuring maximum efficiency and output from officeholders and their offices.

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