No untaxed allowances were paid to myself or the Ministers of State in my Department to date.
Ministers and Ministers of State are entitled to the same allowances as Members of the Oireachtas with the some exceptions.
As the Deputy will be aware, the legislation providing for Oireachtas expense allowances is exempt from taxation under section 836 of the Taxes Consolidation Act which was inserted into this Act by section 3(7) of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 2009.
Ministers do not receive the Travel and Accommodation Allowance provided to Members of the Oireachtas.
However, Ministers outside the Dublin area who maintain second homes because of their official duties can claim an income tax deduction in maintaining that second home as well as the annual mortgage repayment. The availability of this allowance is determined by the Revenue Commissioners.
Since 1 May 2011 Cabinet Ministers with the exception of myself, Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Law Reform now use their own cars on official business. All Ministers are now paid for official mileage up to 96,540 kilometres or 60,000 miles per annum. Ministers of State have used their own cars on official business since 1984.
Ministers are entitled to claim travel expenses for official business in line with guidelines set down by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
