Paul Bradford (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No, I am referring to the current allowance of which all Deputies and Senators are in receipt. The parliamentary allowance is vouched half-way through the subsequent year when 10% of Members are selected for auditing. I presume that arrangement will apply. From the perspective of fairness and transparency for Independent Members, I ask the Minister to ensure detailed guidelines will be published early. I speak as someone who was audited under the scheme three or four years ago. In fact, it was the first year of the allowance so it was only partial. I was obliged to demonstrate I had spent €12,500 in that particular year. I had all my facts and figures because everything was paid by cheque. My genuine political expenses came to well over €20,000 but I felt the process quite unnerving and difficult. The language of the correspondence received from the auditors was negative, to put it mildly. In fact, I would describe it as almost threatening. I could show an expenditure of €20,000 plus, yet I was literally forced to prove myself innocent. The process started in April or May of the year in question, and it was the following November before I was finally given a letter and a certificate to say that everything was in order.

I had one small query which a phone call could have answered, yet a whole chain of correspondence had to be entered into. I am sure the auditors were doing their job fairly but to have matters working smoothly we need to liaise more fully with the auditors. We should ensure that a month after one's accounts are submitted, one would have a face-to-face meeting with the auditors. We may only be talking about 15 or 20 Members of the Oireachtas, but it would be a better system to have a meeting whereby questions could be dealt with rather than having an official, legalistic and almost threatening response.

In 2011, I simply decided to go back to the unvouched system, although the money was less, because I had had enough hassle from the vouched system. Now we all have to go via the vouched system but we need to have structures in place whereby politicians are treated as being, on the law of averages, honest, decent and not trying to break any law or swindle any money. Instead, however, we were more or less being found guilty until we could prove ourselves innocent. A better system needs to be put in place as well as improved communication between the independent auditors and Members who are being assessed. We should have a meeting four to six weeks after the accounts have been submitted in order that we would not have an endless chain of rather threatening mail from the office.