S.I. No. 413/1996:

OIREACHTAS (ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS) (CONSTITUENCY TELEPHONE ALLOWANCE) REGULATIONS, 1996

OIREACHTAS (ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS) (CONSTITUENCY TELEPHONE ALLOWANCE) REGULATIONS, 1996

I, Ruairi Quinn, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 2 (as amended by Section 3 of the Oireachtas (Miscellaneous Provisions) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1996 , (No. 39 of 1996)) and 3 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 (Allowances to Members) (Constituency Telephone Allowance) Regulations, 1996

(2) These Regulations shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of January 1996.

2. In these Regulations "scheduled position" means the position of chairman of an Oireachtas Committee specified in the Schedule (as amended by the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Telephone and Postal Facilities) (Amendment) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 269 of 1995 )) to the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Telephone and Postal Facilities) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 32 of 1995 ).

3. A constituency telephone allowance shall be payable in respect of each year as follows :

(a) to a member of Dáil Éireann, a sum of £2,000,

(b) to a Member of Seanad Éireann, a sum of £1,000,

(c) to a member of either House of the Oireachtas, who is also a holder of a scheduled position, a sum of £1,000,

(d) to a member of Dáil Éireann who is a party whip in Dáil Éireann, a sum of £1,000.

4. Where a constituency telephone allowance is payable the amount, other than for the year 1996, shall be payable in four instalments as follows:

(a) the first instalment shall be payable on or after the 31st day of March

(b) the second instalment shall be payable on or after the 30th day of June

(c) the third instalment shall be payable on or after the 30th day of September

(d) the fourth instalment shall be payable on or after the 15th day of December

of the year for which the constituency telephone allowance is payable.

5. A constituency telephone allowance shall not be payable for any period during which the person concerned was not a member of either House of the Oireachtas or was not the holder of a scheduled position or was not a party whip in Dáil Éireann.

6. Where a constituency telephone allowance is payable to any person in respect of the year 1996 any amount paid to the person under Regulation 4 (as amended by the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Telephone and Postal Facilities) (Amendment) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 269 of 1995 )) of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Telephone and Postal Facilities) Regulations 1995 ( S.I. No. 32 of 1995 ), shall be deducted from the constituency telephone allowance payable to that person for that year.

7. Regulation 4 (as amended by the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Telephone and Postal Facilities) (Amendment) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 269 of 1995 ) of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Telephone and Postal Facilities) Regulations 1995 ( S.I. No. 32 of 1995 ) is hereby revoked.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 23rd day of December, 1996.

RUAIRI QUINN

Minister for Finance

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations provide for the payment of an unvouched annual constituency telephone allowance to Oireachtas Members. The annual allowance for Dáil Deputies is £2,000 ; for Senators it is £1,000 and an additional £1,000 is payable to Oireachtas Committee Chairpersons and Dáil Party Whips.

These Regulations replace the previous arrangements whereby Members were paid a contribution of 75% of the vouched cost of calls from designated numbers, in their homes or constituency offices (where the constituency offices were not located in Leinster House). Payments were subject to annual limits of £2,000 for Deputies, £1,000 for Senators and an additional £1,000 for Oireachtas Committee Chairpersons and Dail Party whips.