asked the Minister for Finance if he will state (1) the total amount of the allowances paid to the leaders of (a) the largest opposition party and (b) the second largest opposition party since the passing of the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act, 1938, (2) the name of each Member who received these allowances, and (3) the total amounts received each year by such persons.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Allowances to Leaders of Opposition Parties.
19.
The total amounts paid under the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts to the leader of the largest Opposition Party and of the second largest Opposition Party are £19,459 and £8,318 respectively. The information sought at (2) and (3) of the question is to be found in the Finance Accounts published in respect of each of the financial years 1938-39 to 1958-59, inclusive. For the current financial year to 31st January, 1960, £860 has been paid to the leader of the largest Opposition Party in the form of £579 to Deputy Mulcahy and £281 to Deputy Dillon; £538 was paid to Deputy Norton, the leader of the second largest Opposition Party.
Will the Minister say that these amounts are made available under a statute passed here in order to enable the Leaders of Parties in Opposition to provide clerical and secretarial assistance so that the work of the Opposition Parties may be carried on? Is the Minister aware that representations have been made in this House to the Government and sympathetically received, I thought, that, in order that the work of this House may be carried on in a more satisfactory and effective way, these allowances ought to be increased so that there would be some kind of suitable or semi-adequate secretarial machinery available to carry on the Opposition side of the work here?
It is true that these payments were made under statute to enable Leaders of the Opposition Parties to equip themselves to carry out their duties here properly, that is, for clerical assistance, and so on. It is also true that representations were made to me by the principal Opposition Party that the amount is inadequate. That is under consideration.