Flynn defends allowance criticism

Flynn defends allowance criticism


Deputy unrepentant about receipt of Independent TDs’ allowance payment despite FF return

Áine Ryan

THE FLYNNASTY may be under fire again but its ‘Class Act’, Deputy Beverley Flynn, was last night (Monday) in ebullient form and predicted to The Mayo News ‘it is unlikely that Taoiseach Brian Cowen will rescind the law regarding allowances for Independent TDs’.
This was despite outrage on the national airwaves yesterday about the annual tax-free allowance of €41,000 for Independent TDs, still being claimed by Deputy Flynn, despite her reinstatement in Fianna Fáil some months ago.
When questioned on RTÉ’s This Week programme on Sunday last, the Taoiseach said he intended discussing the matter with the Mayo deputy ‘in due course’.
Deputy Flynn has argued vehemently that the allowance is her entitlement since she fought the last election as an Independent and, moreover, that after she was expelled from Fianna Fáil in 2004, during the last Dáil term, she lost party financial support and had to rely on her own resources to fund her operations.
“I don’t think there is any possibility of Brian Cowen changing the law, which was set up by Charlie McCreevey some years ago. However, I do think it would be fairer if entitlement to the allowance extends [to a TD] if you become an Independent at any stage during a term,” said Deputy Flynn last night.
“This is the way the legislation works and [on the other hand] it didn’t favour me while I was an Independent TD in the last government, during which time I was incurring a lot of expenses over four years,” she continued, referring to her status after her expulsion in 2004.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael’s Deputy Michael Ring yesterday called on the Taoiseach to address ‘this anomaly in the law’ when the Dáil reconvenes. He was speaking on Today FM’s The Last Word, where Sunday Tribune journalist, Michael Clifford argued that while Deputy Flynn was ‘legally’ entitled to the special stipend, ‘morally’ it was wrong.
Coincidentally, it has emerged that Fine Gael Deputy Liam Twomey of Wexford entered the last Dáil as an Independent but later joined Fine Gael. However, it has not been confirmed if the Wexford deputy cancelled the Independent allowance after joining the party.      
On Friday last Deputy Flynn became embroiled in this latest controversy after The Irish Examiner revealed that she was still in receipt of a special Independent TD’s tax-free allowance of €41,000 a year despite the fact she was readmitted to Fianna Fáil last April.
The allowance, which is known as the Party Leaders’ Allowance, was extended to independent TDs some years ago. However, unlike the parties, the TDs are not obliged to give the Standards in Public Office Commission a statement on how the money has been used.
During 2008, the State paid a total of €202,000 to five independent TDs — Deputies Flynn, Jackie Healy-Rae, Michael Lowry, the late Tony Gregory and Finian McGrath. However, Wicklow’s Deputy Joe Behan does not qualify for the payment, since he began the current Dáil term as a member of Fianna Fáil.
Later last Friday, during an interview with Mid-West Radio’s Liamy McNally, Deputy Flynn strongly defended her right to the payment. She argued that, after she was expelled from Fianna Fáil in 2004, she no longer had the support of the party structure and therefore had to fund her constituency structure out of her own pocket.
“Prior to the last election I was elected as a Fianna Fáil TD. I found myself outside Fianna Fáil after the first year and spent the following four years as an Independent. In that particular case I did not receive the Independent allowance despite the fact that I did not have the support of the party structure and had the additional expenses that all Independent deputies have,” said Deputy Flynn.
She was referring to her expulsion from the party in 2004 after her failed libel case against RTÉ. However, Deputy Flynn conceded that since her readmission to Fianna Fáil in mid-2007 she has enjoyed the financial support of the party. Deputy Flynn also argued that that while Independent TDs receive this allowance,‘in fact. a similar allowance is paid to all TDs in Dáil Éireann through their party coffers’.
 “What I’m saying is I’m entitled to the allowance, as every other Independent TD is and I’ll  use that allowance to the best of my ability on behalf of my constituents and I believe the money is very well spent. It is certainly badly needed,” she continued.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week radio programme on Sunday last, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said he will take ‘the matter up with her in due course, in the next week or two’.
“I’ll give the opportunity for Deputy Flynn to talk to me about it and we’ll have a discussion about it and we’ll end up with whatever is appropriate being done,” Deputy Cowen said.