S.I. 280 of 2006

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Special Secretarial Allowance) Regulations 2006

I, Brian Cowen, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by subsections (2A) and (2B) (inserted by section 16 of the section 2 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act 1962 (No. 32 of 1962), hereby make the following regulations:

1.       (1)        These Regulations may be cited as the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Special Secretarial Allowance) Regulations 2006.

(2)        These Regulations are deemed to have come into operation on 1 January 2006.

2.       In these Regulations -

-�Minister-� means Minister for Finance;

-�Ministerial or Parliamentary Office-� means Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister of the Government, Minister of State, Chairman of Dáil Éireann, Deputy Chairman of Dáil Éireann, Chairman of Seanad Éireann, Deputy Chairman of Seanad Éireann or Leader of Seanad Éireann;

-�parliamentary assistant pay scale-� and -�secretarial assistant pay scale-� means the pay scale of a person holding the position of parliamentary or secretarial assistant providing secretarial facilities to a member of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann in accordance with the Regulations of 2004;

-�Regulations of 2004-� means Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Secretarial Facilities) (No. 5) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 888 of 2004 );

-�special secretarial allowance-� means the special secretarial allowance granted under section 2(2A) of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act 1962 (No. 32 of 1962).

3.       The amount of the special secretarial allowance is increased to -

(a)      in the case of a member of Dáil Éireann, €36,320 per year, or where the first point of the parliamentary assistant pay scale is more than that amount, the amount of the first point per year, and

(b)      in the case of a member of Seanad Éireann -

(i)        50 per cent of the amount payable under paragraph (a) per year, where the member has not opted for additional secretarial facilities under Regulation 4(a) or (b), or

(ii)        €6,666 per year, where the member has opted for additional secretarial facilities under Regulation 4(b),

of the Regulations of 2004.

4.       The special secretarial allowance shall not be payable to -

(a)      a member of Dáil Éireann who opts for additional secretarial facilities under Regulation 3(a), (b) or (c), or

(b)     a member of Seanad Éireann who opts for additional secretarial facilities under Regulation 4(a),

of the Regulations of 2004.

5.       A member of -

(a)      Dáil Éireann, or

(b)      Seanad Éireann being the holder of a Ministerial or Parliamentary Office,

who is entitled to the special secretarial allowance, increased by Regulation 3, may opt instead in writing, in such manner as directed by the Minister, for the special secretarial allowance to be paid to him or her by way of -

(i)        an unvouched portion of the allowance, to the amount increased by the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Special Secretarial Allowances) Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 434 of 2001 ) in respect of the member, and

(ii)        a vouched portion of the allowance, to the amount of €10,245, or where 50 percent of the first point of the secretarial assistant pay scale is more than that amount, the amount of the first point up to that 50 percent,

per year.

6.       The special secretarial allowance or any portion of it (other than the amount referred to in Regulation 3(b)(ii) or the unvouched portion of the allowance referred to in Regulation 5(i)), shall be payable only on foot of receipts for items of expenditure mentioned in the Schedule, vouched in such manner as the Minister may, from time to time, direct.

7.       The Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Secretarial Allowances) Regulations 2005 ( S.I. No. 84 of 2005 ) are revoked.

SCHEDULE

Regulation 6

The items of expenditure which may be vouched for the purposes of Regulation 6 -

(1)       include the following:

-�    purchase of secretarial equipment other than a suite of equipment as specified in Part I of Schedule 1 to the Regulations of 2004,

-�    purchase of secretarial services pursuant to a contract for services, and

-�    payment of remuneration to persons providing secretarial services other than remuneration to persons engaged under the Regulations of 2004;

(2)       but do not include any of the following:

-�    expenses relating to accommodation or premises such as purchase or rental of real property, maintenance and decoration,

-�    transport, travelling or subsistence expenses for members of the Houses of the Oireachtas or their employees,

-�    gifts, donations or entertainment,

-�    postal, telephone or telemessage facilities, and

-�    any particular items of expenditure for which the member has already been fully reimbursed pursuant to a statutory scheme.

Where expenditure relates to the purchase of secretarial services pursuant to a contract for services or a contract of service, any applicable tax and social insurance costs must be included in the amount vouched in each case.