S.I. No. 99/1998 - Oireachtas (Allowances To Members) (Telephone and Postal Facilities) Regulations, 1998.

S.I. No. 99 of 1998.

OIREACHTAS (ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS) (TELEPHONE AND POSTAL FACILITIES) REGULATIONS, 1998.

I, CHARLIE McCREEVY, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 2 (inserted by section 11 (1) of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1992 (No. 3 of 1992), and amended by section 3 of the Oireachtas (Miscellaneous Provisions) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1996 (No. 39 of 1996)) and 3 (as amended by section 17 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act, 1998 (No. 5 of 1998)) 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) (Telephone and Postal Facilities) Regulations, 1998.

(2) Regulation 3 (e) shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of March, 1995.

(3) These Regulations (other than Regulation 3 (e)) shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 6th day of June, 1997.

2. (1) In these Regulations, save where the context otherwise requires—

"the appropriate authority" means—

(a) in the case of a member of Dáil Éireann, the Clerk of Dáil Éireann, and

(b) in the case of a member of Seanad Éireann, the Clerk of Seanad Éireann;

"member" means a member of Dáil Éireann or a member of Seanad Éireann;

"scheduled office" means the office of chairman of any of the following:

(a) the Committee of Public Accounts appointed by Dáil Éireann,

(b) the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body,

(c) a Joint Committee (within the meaning of, the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann and, the Standing Orders of Seanad Éireann) appointed by both Houses of the Oireachtas.

(2) In these Regulations—

(a) a reference to a Regulation is a reference to a Regulation of these Regulations unless it is indicated that reference to some other Regulations is intended,

(b) a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

3. The facility of free telephone calls from Leinster House granted to a member shall be subject to the following exceptions, restrictions and conditions:

(a) the facility shall not commence until the member first becomes, by compliance with the Standing Orders of the House of the Oireachtas of which he or she is a member, entitled, under the Standing Orders of that House, to sit in that House as a member thereof,

(b) the facility shall not be availed of except by means of a direct dial telephone,

(c) subject to paragraph (d), the availing of the facility by a member shall be limited to the making of calls from a particular telephone number that is designated by the appropriate authority for use by the member concerned and so adapted as to prevent its use by other persons,

(d) the provisions of paragraph (c) shall not preclude a member from transmitting facsimile documents by means of the telephone facilities provided to members on a communal basis for the transmission and receipt of such documents, and

(e) the facility may be availed of by a member for the purpose of transmitting telemessages subject to an annual limit of£750 on the cost of the telemessages that may be so transmitted by the member.

4. (1) Subject to paragraph (2), a Constituency Telephone Allowance shall be payable in respect of each year as follows:

(a) to a member of Dáil Éireann, an amount of£4,000,

(b) to a member of Seanad Éireann, an amount of£3,000,

(c) to a member, who is also the holder of a scheduled office, an additional amount of£1,000 in respect of each such office held by the member,

(d) to a member of Dáil Éireann, who is a party whip in Dáil Éireann, an additional amount of£1,000, and

(e) to a member of Dáil Éireann, who is an assistant party whip in Dáil Éireann, nominated by a person referred to in subparagraph (d) who is the Government chief whip and who opts not to be paid the amount referred to in that subparagraph, an additional amount of£1,000.

(2) The payment of the allowance referred to in paragraph (1) is subject to the following exceptions, restrictions and conditions:

(a) the allowance shall be paid in four instalments at the following times:

(i) on or after the 31st day of March,

(ii) on or after the 30th day of June,

(iii) on or after the 30th day of September,

(iv) on or after the 15th day of December,

(b) not withstanding subparagraph (a), an instalment of the allowance shall be paid no later than 3 months after each of the dates specified in clauses (i) to (iv) of that subparagraph, as appropriate,

(c) the allowance shall not be payable in respect of any period during which the person concerned was not, as the case may be, a member, a holder of a scheduled office, a party whip in Dáil Éireann or a person nominated under paragraph (1)(e), and

(d) where, in any year, a member exceeds the limit specified in Regulation 3(e), the amount of the allowance shall be reduced by an amount equal to such amount (if any) of that excess that the member has not paid to the appropriate authority.

5. (1) Free postal facilities granted to a member shall be subject to the following exceptions, restrictions and conditions:

(a) the facilities shall not commence until the member first becomes, by compliance with the Standing Orders of the House of the Oireachtas of which he or she is a member, entitled, under the Standing Orders of that House, to sit in that House as a member thereof,

(b) the facilities shall not be availed of save by means of envelopes which, on application made by the member concerned to the appropriate authority, shall be issued for the purposes of these Regulations,

(c) envelopes issued for the purposes of these Regulations shall be prepaid in the following manner:

(i) at the ordinary inland letter post rate for An Post preferred size envelopes ("ordinary prepaid envelopes"),

(ii) at a rate that is one and a half times such letter post rate ("prepaid (intermediate size) envelopes"),

(iii) at a rate that is three times such letter post rate ("prepaid (large size) envelopes"), or

(iv) at a rate equivalent to the standard rate for a 20 gramme airmail letter to destinations outside Europe ("prepaid (airmail) envelopes"),

(d) a member shall be entitled to receive a monthly allocation of ordinary prepaid envelopes not exceeding—

(i) in the case of a member who is a party whip in Dáil Éireann, the number obtained by adding—

(I) the number that is equal to the number of members for the time being of the parliamentary party of which the member is whip when multiplied by 10, and

(II) 1,500,

(ii) in the case of a member who is a group whip in Seanad Éireann, the number obtained by adding—

(I) the number that is equal to the number of members for the time being of the group of which the member is whip when multiplied by 10, and

(II) 1,500, and

(iii) in any other case, 1,500,

(e) in case as regards a particular month a member receives no ordinary prepaid envelopes or less than the number of such envelopes to which the member is entitled under subparagraph (d), the member's allocation as regards that month of such envelopes or, as may be appropriate, the remainder of such allocation shall be forfeited,

(f) a member shall be entitled to receive prepaid (intermediate size) envelopes if, and only if, as regards any two such envelopes, the member surrenders to the appropriate authority three ordinary prepaid envelopes previously issued to the member,

(g) a member shall be entitled to receive prepaid (large size) envelopes if, and only if, as regards each such envelope, the member surrenders to the appropriate authority three ordinary prepaid envelopes previously issued to the member,

(h) a member shall be entitled to receive prepaid (airmail) envelopes if, and only if, as regards any three of such envelopes, the member surrenders to the appropriate authority five ordinary prepaid envelopes previously issued to the member,

(i) letters being sent by means of prepaid (airmail) envelopes shall be delivered to the appropriate authority for posting and shall be posted by it and any postal charge owing on such letters over and above the prepaid amount shall be paid to it by, or on behalf of, the member at the time such letters are delivered to it for posting,

(j) if the Committee on Procedure and Privileges of Dáil Éireann or the Committee on Procedure and Privileges of Seanad Éireann, as may be appropriate, so determines the facilities may be withdrawn in whole or in part in respect of any month from any member who has allowed another person to send by means of prepaid envelopes issued to the member letters not arising from the member's parliamentary duties,

(k) any question or dispute as to whether a member has allowed another person to send, by means of prepaid envelopes issued to the member, letters not arising from the member's parliamentary duties shall be referred to and determined as follows:

(i) in the case of a member of Dáil Éireann, by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges of Dáil Éireann or, if at the time the reference falls to be made, that Committee does not stand appointed, the Chairman of Dáil Éireann, and

(ii) in the case of a member of Seanad Éireann, by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges of Seanad Éireann or, if at the time the reference falls to be made, that Committee does not stand appointed, the Chairman of Seanad Éireann,

and every such determination shall be final.

(2) For the purposes of this Regulation, the number of members of a parliamentary party shall be taken to be the number equal to the number of persons each of whom is for the time being—

(a) a member of the political party concerned (being a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties), and

(b) a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a representative in the European Parliament:

Provided that where such a member is for the time being such a representative, then for the said purposes the fact that he or she is such a representative shall be disregarded.

(3) For the purposes of this Regulation, the number of members of a group in Seanad Éireann shall be taken to be the number equal to the number of persons each of whom is for the time being—

(a) a member of Seanad Éireann, and

(b) a member of the group (within the meaning of the Standing Orders of Seanad Éireann) concerned.

6. Any facilities availed of by a member, or any allowance paid to a member, under the Regulations specified in Regulation 7 during the period from the commencement of these Regulations to the date of the making thereof shall be regarded as facilities granted to, or an allowance paid to, the member under the corresponding provision of these Regulations.

7. The following Regulations are hereby revoked:

(a) the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Telephone and Postal Facilities) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 32 of 1995 ),

(b) the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Telephone and Postal Facilities) (Amendment) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 269 of 1995 ),

(c) the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Constituency Telephone Allowance) Regulations, 1996 ( S.I. No. 413 of 1996 ), and

(d) the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Constituency Telephone Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 201 of 1997 ),

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 7th day of April, 1998.

CHARLIE McCREEVY, T.D.

Minister for Finance

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations consolidate and revise the existing provisions in relation to the telephone and postal facilities available to Members of the Oireachtas.