S.I. No. 126/1984:

OIREACHTAS (ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1984.

OIREACHTAS (ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1984.

I, JOHN BOLAND, Minister for the Public Service, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act, 1962 (No. 32 of 1962), and the Public Service (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1973 ( S.I. No. 294 of 1973 ), hereby make the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Amendment) Regulations, 1984.

(2) The Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Regulations, 1963 to 1978, and these Regulations may be cited together as the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Regulations, 1963 to 1984.

2. In these Regulations "the Principal Regulations" means the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Regulations, 1963 ( S.I. No. 4 of 1963 ).

3. (1) Free postal facilities arising out of his parliamentary duties granted to a member of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann shall be subject to the following restrictions:

(a) the facilities shall not commence until the member first becomes, by compliance with the Standing Orders of the House of which he 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 exercised save by means of envelopes which, on application made to him by the member concerned, shall be issued for the purposes of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Regulations, 1963 to 1984, by the Clerk of Dáil Éireann or the clerk of Seanad Éireann (as may be appropriate);

(c) envelopes issued for the purposes of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Regulations, 1963 to 1984, shall be prepaid either at the ordinary inland letter post rate (which envelopes are subsequently referred to in this Regulation as "ordinary prepaid envelopes") or at a rate which is double such letter post rate (which envelopes are so referred to as "prepaid (double rate) envelopes");

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

(i) in case the member is a party whip, the number obtained by adding,

(I) the number which is equal to the number of members for the time being of the Parliamentary Party of which he is whip when multiplied by five, and

(II) 1,250, and

(ii) in case the member is not a party whip, 1,250;

(e) in case as regards a particular month such a member receives no ordinary prepaid envelopes or less than 1,250 such envelopes, his allocation as regards that month of such envelopes or, as may be appropriate, the remainder of such allocation shall be forfeited; and

(f) a member shall be entitled to receive prepaid (double rate) envelopes if, and only if, as regards each such envelope he surrenders to the Clerk of Dáil Éireann or the Clerk of Seanad Éireann (as may be appropriate) two ordinary prepaid envelopes previously issued to him.

(2) For the purposes of this Regulation the number of members of a Parliamentary Party shall be the number equal to the number of persons each of whom is for the time being--

(a) a member of the particular political party concerned (being a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties for the purposes of section 13 of the Electoral Act, 1963 (No. 19 of 1963)), and

( b ) a member of the Oireachtas or a representative in the Assembly of the European Communities by virtue of the European Assembly Elections Act, 1977 (No. 30 of 1977);

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

4. The following are hereby revoked--

( a ) Regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations,

( b ) Regulation 2 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Amendment) Regulations, 1963 ( S.I. No. 276 of 1963 ), in so far as it amends Regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations,

( c ) Regulation 5 (2) of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Amendment) Regulations, 1975 ( S.I. No. 112 of 1975 ), and

( d ) Regulation 2 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Amendment) Regulations, 1978 ( S.I. No. 119 of 1978 ).

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 15th day of May, 1984.

JOHN BOLAND,

Minister for the Public Service.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations--

(i) provide for a change from 300 envelopes per week for members of Dáil Éireann (100 of which are Official Paid which they can post themselves and 200 which must be posted by the Clerk of Dáil Éireann after having been delivered to him for posting) to 1,250 ordinary prepaid envelopes per month (all of which they can post themselves).

(ii) provide for a change from 300 envelopes per week for members of Seanad Éireann (20 of which they can post themselves and 280 which must be posted by the Clerk of Seanad Éireann after having been delivered to him for posting) to 1,250 ordinary prepaid envelopes per month (all of which they can post themselves).

(iii) provide that each party whip shall be issued with a further quantity of ordinary prepaid envelopes each month, equal to five times the number of members of the Parliamentary Party in question (including Deputies, Senators and Members of the European Parliament).