Hallowe’en Trick or Cheat, Seanad Eireann and pretending to be what you’re not.

What’s the connection between Halloween, Simply Red, the Labour party and public money?

Hallowe’en is all about wearing a costume and pretending to be what you are not; a bit like a Senator who wishes they were a TD but didn’t get elected.

If like me you left school in the 1980s you certainly remember that hit single by Simply Red from 1985 called “Monies too tight to mention”. Well, if ever there was a song to represent the depression of the 80s this was it. It also represented the working man’s plight and the rise in public popularity of Labour Party politics. Perhaps now that we are living in the worst recession since the 1930s, this song should be re-released.

So what’s this got to do with public money and the labour party you might ask? I’ll tell you what. Over the past four years, as reported in the Sunday Tribune and Sunday Business Post, 95 politicians who have served as Senators have claimed more than €10.57million in expenses. Among them is Labour Senator Michael McCarthy from Dunmanway who has claimed over €240,000 in expenses between the period 2005 and 2008 alone. That equates to taking home an average of €60,000 on top of an annual salary of €70,000. This amounts to the staggering sum of €130,000 per annum. Over his 9 years as a Senator, Michael McCarthy has earned approximately over 1 million in salary and expenses.

Where else would one have the ability to earn this enormous salary with little or no experience and with the added bonus of having a work year that requires just 100 days or less in office?

The majority of expenses were claimed for travel and subsistence payments for attending Seanad Eireann. Yet, a study by RTE’s ‘The Week in Politics’ programme found that, from May to January 09, only three senators had attended all 55 Seanad Eireann votes. In simple terms, only three actually turned up to work and vote on legislation or Oireachtas business when they were required. That’s three out of the total number of 60 Senators, a mere 5% of the Senate members, who have a 100% attendance rate.

The question begs as to how a figure of more than €10.57million has been claimed by Senators when the level of attendance by many of them is so abysmally low?

Moreoever, what have the opposition parties have to say about this, particularily, the Labour Party in light of their demands that John O’Donoghue resign for his gross misuse of public funds? Surely they intend to lead by example? Well, it wouldn’t appear so. The Study by RTE showed that the Labour Party Senators were in the bottom five of members in voting attendance. Yes that’s correct: the bottom five. One must ask what the Labour Senators are actually doing when between them they are costing the taxpayer more than one million a year to sit as Senators? Furthermore, how can Senator McCarthy claim over €60,000 a year in travel and subsistence when he is not present for Seanad business as reported by RTE?

I, for one, would like answers to these questions. In a time when the public are seeking greater transparency on how public monies are spent or where they could be spent, one must question the value we are getting for OUR money. Let us not forget that our taxed income is paying for this extravagance.

Staying local, I would like to know why Senator McCarthy voted only 15 times out of 55 in the 6 month period between May and January 2009. That’s an attendance record of 27% for a position with a combined salary and expenses of over €130,000. I find these facts and figures truly scandalous. In the private sector any employee who presented such a record of employment would be sacked immediately. In any other working democratic institution in the developed world, such individuals would be forced to resign from office, yet here in Ireland they carry on without reproach.

Have we as a nation completely lost our ability to govern? It appears that we have created a generation of self-serving politicians who see their office as one of entitlement with no concept of reality as experienced by the citizens of this state that pay for their privileges. All Oireachtas members are required to comply with a code of ethics as represented in the Ethics in Public Office Act, which sets out the standards of conduct and integrity expected to be observed by the members in the performance of their official duties. The Code of Conduct states that in performing their official duties, members must apply public resources prudently and only for the purposes for which they are intended.

Given the above, one would conclude that since Senator McCarthy’s voting record on Senate business illustrates only a 27% participation rate, it could be reasonably suggested that he repay €95,000 to the State for expenses and salary claimed for non-attendance on Seanad business. These are after all monies the taxpayer paid. Neither I nor anyone working in the public or private sector, would be allowed to claim expenses for work when records show non-attendance. Surely this would not be tolerated? Certainly, not in the real world.

A 27% voting record does not demonstrate, even in the wildest imaginations of public service, value for money and is nothing short of contemptible. Such behavior by Senator McCarthy and his colleagues demonstrates conduct unbecoming of office holders and brings the integrity of their office and the houses of the Oireachtas into serious disrepute. This is not acceptable and cannot be tolerated now or in any circumstance, especially when the state is cutting funding for essential social and health services elsewhere. The idiom “a penny wise and pound stupid” comes to mind.

Senators are only required to sit for a maximum of 2 days a week and actually attend Seanad Eireann for less than 100 days a year. It is for some a part-time job albeit an enormously well-paid one. This privileged position brings with it a salary of €70,000 per annum plus expenses. However, one should look a little deeper, for example, the cost of Senator McCarthy’s expenses for each day’s attendance would equate to over €1,300 per day to the taxpayer. Were one to take into consideration his 27% voting attendance record this could be recalculated at a staggering cost of €4,815 per day for his participation in Seanad Business.

How can this be justified? If someone feels that they can justify their job with a 27% attendance then clearly that position is not required. Not even the most talented career professional could demand this level of remuneration, not even for a two day week; such waste of public finances is nothing short of a national disgrace. And all this from one of the next generation of career politicians who proudly claims on his website “McCarthy’s around when others can’t be found”.

More like “Others around and McCarthy’s nowhere to be found”.