I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." This Bill is consequential on the passing of the Constitution (Removal of Oath) Act, 1933. Section 4 of the Oireachtas (Payment of Members) Act, 1923, provides that the allowance and travelling facilities to be paid to and received by each Deputy shall commence and be payable as from the day on which he shall take the Oath, which was formerly prescribed by Article 17 of the Constitution, after his then last election to the Oireachtas. As this Oath is no longer part of the Constitution, the section mentioned has ceased to operate and the present Bill provides for the commencement of payment of the allowance and travelling expenses to members of the Oireachtas elected after the passing of the Constitution (Removal of Oath) Act, 1933. In the case of a member elected to Dáil Eireann at a General Election, Section 2 of the Bill provides that the allowance and travelling facilities shall be payable as from the date on which the Oireachtas is summoned to meet after the General Election, subject to prior compliance by the members with the Standing Orders of Dáil Eireann. In every other case payment is to commence as from the date of compliance with the Standing Orders of Dáil Eireann or Seanad Eireann. Sub-section 1 of Section 3 of the Bill follows the lines of Section 5 (1) of the 1923 Act. In sub-section (2) of Section 3 provision is made for the first time for the payment of expenses incurred by a member of the Oireachtas in travelling to Dublin for the purpose of complying with Standing Orders on a date prior to the date of such compliance. Sub-section (3) of Section 3 follows the lines of sub-section (3) of Section 5 of the 1923 Act. Section 5 of the Bill provides for the payment of the allowance and travelling expenses to a Deputy elected during the period between the passing of the Constitution (Removal of Oath) Act, 1933, and the passage of this Bill into law.
There will be little or no additional cost to the Exchequer as a result of the Bill. It is true that the grant under sub-section (2) of Section 3 of travelling facilities on a date prior to the date of the actual compliance with Standing Orders will entail some small additional expenditure.