Oireachtas (Payment of Members) Act , 1923

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

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 Amount of allowance to members of the Oireachtas.

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 Particulars of travelling facilities for members of the Oireachtas.

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 Commencement of allowances and travelling facilities.

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

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 case may be) shall be final.

6 Definitions.

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 Short Title.

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