No. 18/1923:

THE OIREACHTAS (PAYMENT OF MEMBERS) ACT, 1923

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Members of the Oireachtas to receive allowance and travelling facilities.

2 Amount of allowance to members of the Oireachtas.

3 Particulars of travelling facilities for members of the Oireachtas.

4 Commencement of allowances and travelling facilities.

5 Provision for members prevented by illness, etc, from taking the oath.

6 Definitions.

7 Short Title.

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE PAYMENT OF ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS OF THE OIREACHTAS AND TO AUTHORISE THE PROVISION OF CERTAIN FREE TRAVELLING FACILITIES FOR SUCH MEMBERS.

[18th June, 1923.]

WHEREAS it is enacted by Article 23 of the Constitution of Saorstát Eireann that the Oireachtas shall make provision for the payment of its members and may in addition provide them with free travelling facilities in Ireland:

AND WHEREAS on the 10th day of January, 1923, Seanad Eireann resolved that the remuneration payable to members of Seanad Eireann should be the same as might be fixed by Dáil Eireann for its members and that First class vouchers or season tickets to or from the houses of Senators should be provided:

AND WHEREAS on the 24th day of January, 1923, Dáil Eireann resolved that each of its members should be allowed a sum of £30 per month towards expenses and be provided with free first class railway travelling facilities between Dublin and his constituency:

AND WHEREAS it is expedient that provision should be made pursuant to the said Article 23 of the Constitution for the payment to members of the Oireachtas of the allowances mentioned in the said Resolutions and for providing them with free travelling facilities in accordance with the same Resolutions:

BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

1.—Each member of the Oireachtas shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be entitled to receive and be paid out of moneys to be provided by the Oireachtas the allowance and travelling facilities specified in this Act.

2.—(1) The allowance to be paid to each member of the Oireachtas under this Act shall be an allowance at the rate of £30 a month.

(2) The salary for the time being payable to a member of the Oireachtas by virtue of his holding any of the offices following, that is to say—

( a ) Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Eireann,

( b ) Leas-Cheann Comhairle of Dáil Eireann,

( c ) Cathaoirleach of Seanad Eireann,

( d ) Leas-Chathaoirleach of Seanad Eireann,

( e ) President of the Executive Council,

( f ) Any office the tenure of which is dependent on the President of the Executive Council retaining the support of a majority in Dáil Eireann,

( g ) Any office the tenure of which is dependent on the term of existence of a particular Dáil Eireann,

shall be deemed to include the allowance payable to such member under this Act and accordingly no member of the Oireachtas shall, while he is in receipt of salary in respect of any of the offices aforesaid, be entitled to any further allowance under this Act.

3.—(1) The travelling facilities to be received by each member of the Oireachtas under this Act shall be—

( a ) in the case of a member of Dáil Eireann, travelling facilities as defined by this Act between Dublin and any place in the constituency for which he is a member, and

( b ) in the case of a member of Seanad. Eireann, travelling facilities as defined by this Act between Dublin and his usual place of residence for the time being: Provided that such place of residence be in Saorstát Eireann unless in any case in which the Minister for Finance shall be satisfied that special circumstances existing in Saorstát Eireann reasonably deter such member from residence for the time being in Saorstát Eireann and justify the allowance in whole or part of travelling facilities to or from such member's actual place of residence.

(2) The travelling facilities aforesaid shall be provided and paid in such manner as shall from time to time be prescribed by regulations to be made by the Minister for Finance after consultation with the Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Eireann and the Cathaoirleach of Seanad Eireann.

4.—The allowance and travelling facilities to be paid to and received by each member of the Oireachtas under this Act shall (subject to the provisions of this Act in relation to members holding certain offices) commence and be payable as from the day on which he took or shall take the oath next after his then last election to the Oireachtas.

5.—(1) If any member of the Oireachtas who was elected thereto before the passing of this Act was prevented by illness or by some other involuntary and innocent cause from taking the oath on the first day on which the House to which he was elected sat after his election, and has taken or shall take the oath on the first day on which such House sat or shall sit after such illness or such other cause as aforesaid ceased or shall cease, such member shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have taken the oath on the first day on which such House sat after he was elected.

(2) If any member of the Oireachtas who shall be elected thereto after the passing of this Act shall be prevented by illness or by some other involuntary and innocent cause from taking the oath on the first day on which the House to which he shall have been elected shall sit after his election, and shall take the oath on the first day on which such House shall sit after such illness or such other cause as aforesaid shall have ceased, such member shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have taken the oath on the first day on which such House sat after his election thereto.

(3) If any question or dispute shall arise as to whether, or the extent to which, a member of the Oireachtas is entitled to the benefit of this section such question or dispute shall be determined—

( a ) in the case of a member of Dáil Eireann, by the Ceann Comhairle, and

( b ) in the case of a member of Seanad Eireann, by the Cathaoirleach,

and in every such case the determination of the Ceann Comhairle or the Cathaoirleach (as the cause may be) shall be final.

6.—(1) In this Act—

the expression "travelling facilities" means the provision of free first class railway travelling and the re-payment of such other travelling expenses as the Minister for Finance shall be satisfied to have been reasonably incurred;

the words "election" and "elected" when used in relation to a member of Seanad Eireann respectively include election and elected by a vote of Seanad Eireann, and when used in relation to a person who became a member of Seanad Eireann before the passing of this Act, also respectively include nomination and nominated;

the expression "the oath" means the oath prescribed by the Constitution of Saorstát Eireann as the oath to be taken by members of the Oireachtas, and the expression "take the oath" and other like expressions mean taking the oath aforesaid in the manner prescribed by the Constitution;

(2) Every member of the present Dáil Eireann who was a member thereof on the 6th day of December, 1922, shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to have been elected thereto on that day.

7.—This Act may be cited as The Oireachtas (Payment of Members) Act, 1923 .