Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The rate per Member should be different for Government Members than for Opposition Members but the rate should be equal for all Opposition Members, otherwise it is a disincentive to people working together in a co-ordinated fashion in the Oireachtas to achieve political change.

The Minister referred to the wishes of the electorate as a reason for change to the leader's allowance and he said it was never intended that it could be controlled or spent in any fashion. However, it is collectively ours to spend and that is why I am delighted with the change in the title of the allowance because this money is not paid to a party. The idea of a democratic party such as Fianna Fáil, as opposed to a democratically centralised party such as the Labour Party, is that we collectively get to spend the money in a co-ordinated fashion rather than each of us-----

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