Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is an allowance there. At mid-term or at a point in the Dáil or Seanad term, a re-think is needed when a Member is expelled or leaves a party. There should be some fair formula found to give the allowance to that person in his or her new status. As a mark of honour and good faith, we are saying that in our case - Senator Bradford and myself - we would like that allowance to be returned to the State. Last week, there was a big argument about the €15 fee for a freedom of information request - €1.5 million over the next three years would fund a lot of freedom of information requests in the interests of the citizens of this country.

My final question follows from what Senator Thomas Byrne said and it is a question I meant to ask the Minister previously. Members of the Seanad are not on the electoral ballot paper as members of a party. How then does a party legally get that money?