Transparency

2016

Salary

The monthly pre-tax salary of MEPs is €8,020. MEP salaries are paid from Parliament’s budget. My salary is subject to EU tax and Irish tax. My monthly take home pay after both EU and Irish tax is €4,950.

Travel and Subsistence allowance

MEPs are refunded the actual cost of their travel tickets on presentation of invoices, receipts and boarding passes. From January 2016 to December 2016 this amount was €33,559.73.

Parliament pays a flat-rate subsistence allowance (€304) for each day of attendance at official meetings of the Parliament bodies within the European Community to cover accommodation, meals and all other expenses involved in such attendance. The allowance is paid only if the Member has signed an official attendance register.

General expenditure allowance

This allowance is paid to cover the costs involved in running a constituency office including rent, insurance, heating, electricity, cleaning and maintenance costs.

Additionally; postal charges, phone bills, internet subscriptions, office supplies, stationary, newspapers, graphic design costs, printing, literature and distribution costs are covered.

The costs of office equipment including furniture, computers, software and mobile phones are also covered by the allowance.

I rent an office at 6 Main Street, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

The allowance is also used to cover costs relating to the organisation of events, conferences, seminars, exhibitions and public meetings. The allowance is €4,320 per month.

Staff Budget

MEPs choose staff within a fixed budget set by Parliament. I employ four staff members – 2 Accredited Assistants and 2 Local Assistants. I also employ at least 2 interns each year on a 6 month contract. Interns receive a salary during their placement.

Accredited assistants based in Brussels are administered and paid directly by Parliament’s administration.

Local Assistants based in Dublin are handled by a qualified accountant, who guarantees that all appropriate tax and PRSI is paid.

My staff budget is also used to cover all the costs of my staff travelling, including monthly travel to the Parliament in Strasbourg.

The names of my current staff are available here