People want reassurance that the European Parliament, and their representatives there, are providing value for money and that expenses arrangements are not abused. I have chosen to set out below the salaries and allowances, which are approved by the Parliament for MEPs, and my own position in relation to each. Elsewhere on this website you will find further detailed information on how I have carried out my mandate as an MEP on behalf of citizens.

Firstly I do not condone any abuses of the rules of the Parliament. Anyone who does should face penalties; likewise those that abide by the rules should not be vilified directly or by implication. New rules will be introduced in July 2009. I think they are by a big improvement and I have indicated below my approach to these changes.

I hope this document helps to inform an accurate discussion of MEPs salaries and expenses, which are a legitimate area of public discussion. Some of the information I provide is personal; I do so simply to clarify matters.

These are the facts as they relate to myself.

Salary

As an Irish MEP, my European salary is currently the same as that of a TD in the Dáil and is paid by the Irish Department of Finance. My current gross salary is 8,882.00 per month before deductions. It is subject to all Irish PAYE taxes and levies, including the new pension levy (see below).

Other Income

I have no shares or other financial investments. I receive two pension payments, as a former Minister and TD with 20 years service, totalling 5,500 gross per month before deductions.

Combined net Value

The combined net value of both pensions and salary, after all Irish PAYE tax and levies have been deducted, is approximately 8,000 per month. However, because I am still employed as a politician, I have personally chosen, for several years past, to donate the equivalent net value of both pensions to registered Irish charities.

July Reforms Agreed

From July of this year, MEPs may opt to remain on the national salary system or opt for a new European Parliament payment system. The EP payment, at an estimated level of 7,760, is lower than the Irish Rate, but because the European Parliament tax rate is also lower, there is a small financial loss in opting to remain in the Irish system. If re-elected on June 5th I will opt to remain in the Irish system and to continue paying my taxes and levies in Ireland to support Irish public services.

SUPPORT ALLOWANCES FOR MEPs - PAID BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

MEP Assistants allowance

MEPs may draw on a monthly allowance - up to 17,540 in 2009 - to assist them in their work. This Allowance can only be spent on the expenses relating to the engagement of staff including: salary, tax, social insurance and travel & subsistence. My allowance is paid by the Parliament directly to my accounting Service Provider, Ms Angela Maguire of A. Maguire Consulting Ltd, a Dublin-based firm which provides payroll and staff administration services to a variety of clients in the Dublin area. I have no connection other than this contractual one with A.M. Consulting.

At the end of each year this Service provider must provide the European Parliament with an itemised statement of expenditure and must certify, in particular, that all taxes and social security obligations have been met.

I have currently four full-time staff - 3 employees and one stagiaire/intern, based in Brussels and Dublin, who also attend in Strasbourg as required. I have had approximately 15 assistants since I became an MEP; for the past 2 years the assistant who works full time in my Brussels office is a member of my immediate family. None of my other, current or previous, assistants or stagiaires/interns was a relative. Every member of my staff has appropriate qualifications to their role. In addition every member of my staff works a full a five day, with normal holiday leave and often work voluntarily more than the hours required.

The rules require the return of any part of the Assistant allowance, which is unused in any year, to Parliament's budget. In 2008 my returns of unspent allowance was 304; in 2007 it was 46,488; and in 2006 it was 5000. The larger than usual under-spend in 2007 was due to delays in filling a vacant post.

July Reforms Agreed

The current Assistants allowance system will change radically from July 2009, when most of the staff will be employed on contracts managed by Parliament. I am a long-time supporter of such a system. It should end the constant and false allegations of widespread abuse, and will relieve the MEP of administrative responsibilities more appropriate to the parliament.

Subsistence allowance

MEPs receive a flat-rate allowance of 287 per day to cover the cost of accommodation, and food while away from home in either Brussels or Strasbourg. It is only paid to those who have signed the register on those days on which the Parliament operates.

I claim the allowance for those days I am working in the parliament, normally Monday to Thursday. I do not sign the register or claim the allowance on days that I may have to leave early.

Rather than live permanently in a hotel, I rent an apartment on a three-year lease, convenient to the Parliament in Brussels. I stay in a hotel while in Strasbourg. The daily allowance of 287 covers the costs in Strasbourg. Over the 12-month period the daily allowance does not cover my costs in Brussels.

Travel Allowance

MEPs receive a fixed rate mileage allowance to travel from their designated address in their member state to the Parliament in Strasbourg or Brussels, depending on which location is being used on any given working week. The Parliament sits for 40 weeks, on average, each year with another 5 weeks set aside for meetings in the home constituency or elsewhere. The normal schedule for meetings is Monday to Thursday and the travel allowance can only be claimed for official sitting days. Evidence of travel has to be produced, i.e., air and/or train tickets. The MEP has to establish her/his presence in the Parliament each day by signing a register. In my case, for travelling from Dublin to Brussels the allowance is 1,318.00, and from Dublin to Strasbourg it is 1,382.00. I do not travel business class in Europe unless there is no other option. I do not travel by Ryanair for work or leisure, because I abhor their business model, which I regard as anti-trade union and indifferent/unsympathetic to travellers generally and particularly those with disabilities. I normally use Aer Lingus to Brussels and Air France to Strasbourg.

July Reforms agreed

From July 2009, a new system will come into effect, which will reimburse the actual cost of travel, which will make the system more transparent. I have strongly supported this reform and welcome its introduction.

Ancillary Travel Allowance

Each MEP may claim an additional travel allowance, up to a maximum of 4,000 annually. I drew none of this allowance in 2007 or 2008, or so far in 2009. The allowance covers the actual costs of accommodation and travel outside a members state, on business relating to their work as a parliamentarian, but which is not official parliamentary business. The necessary supporting documents must be provided to validate a claim.

General Expenditure Allowance

MEPs are allocated a monthly allowance of 4352.00 to cover the costs of equipping and running a constituency office, for travel, and other expenditure related to membership of the European Parliament, in their home state. I maintain a bank account in Ireland for the general expenditure allowance separately from my personal account, and only use it for the purposes intended. I rent and maintain an office in Liberty Hall where my Dublin based staff work and where I operate from, when I am in Dublin.

For administrative convenience it was the practice up to last year to deduct the members voluntary pension contribution from this allowance. The member then made a contra-payment to cover the deduction. Because of persistent allegations of abuse of this system, that deduction is no longer made from that allowance by the parliament. Members now make their monthly pension contributions directly to the European Parliament from their personal accounts.

Language Training Allowance

Each MEP may claim this annual allowance of 5,000, based on invoices and evidence of having pursued a language course with an accredited language school. In 2008 and 2009, I made no claim on this allowance. In 2007, I undertook an intensive residential 2-week course that cost more than the allowance. I paid the balance myself.

Computer Training Allowance

Each MEP is entitled to an allowance of up to 1500 gross per year for computer training for the MEP and her/his Assistants. I did not draw this allowance in 2007. In 2008, I claimed 1500 for staff training. I have made no claim for 2009.

CONCLUSION

It is important that a member of a parliament, which represents a continent of 500 million people, is adequately resourced. We cannot have a healthy European democracy unless members are able to do their job on behalf of the electorate without fear or favour. It is clear from the above detail that MEPs are well paid and supported financially to do their work effectively. Following a report prepared last year at the request of the parliaments members, the parliaments administration has carried out a thorough review of the system. The administration declared last week that 99.5% of members are in compliance with the current rules. Regrettably there is no system that cannot be abused and for that reason there is a need for constant vigilance by the appropriate authorities, by the media and transparency by parliamentarians.

According to Eurobarometer polls the European Parliament has the highest levels of citizens confidence of any other parliament in Europe. We MEPs therefore have a particular responsibility to ensure that citizens can continue to trust our democratic system. At this time of political, social, and economic upheaval I believe that responsibility is best fulfilled by openness and transparency.

Proinsias De Rossa MEP

Labour Party/Socialist Group

European Parliament

 1 March 2009 - FURTHER NOTE:

On Friday 28th February I announced that I have decided to voluntarily forgo the pensions referred to above. I have been in touch with the relevant Dáil (Irish Parliament) pension section to end the pension payments from 1st March 2009. 

UPDATE 25/4/09: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOLUNTARY PENSION SCHEME

 
There has been misleading media comment on the European Parliament's voluntary pension scheme and I have been asked some questions about it. The following facts may be of interest.

I joined the pension fund when elected in 1999 and have contributed on average €1100 each month for the past 10 years. I did so to improve my retirement income. My membership of the scheme is already referred to in the information voluntarily provided above.

I intend to continue my membership of the scheme and to pay the monthly contribution, at least until the end of this parliamentary period in June. If I am re-elected in June I will consider at that stage whether or not to continue my contributions based on professional advice.

My contributions into the fund are paid from my personal account, as I have already indicated in the information provided above under ‘General Expenditure Allowance (GEA). Formerly, for the parliament's convenience, the member’s voluntary pension contributions were deducted from the GEA. Until that arrangement was changed my consistent practice had been to transfer an equivalent amount from my personal account to the separate GEA account.

It has been wrongly reported that the parliament is proposing to replace the losses sustained by the fund arising from the present economic crisis. This is not true and I would not support such a proposal. The Bureau of the Parliament, which is made up of the leaders of the various political groups in the EP, decided on the 1st April 2009: 'That there was no legal requirement to augment the Fund's capital to cover any losses, nor was there any such augmentation planned' (end of quote). I should add that despite substantial losses the fund is still solvent.

The policy of the Pension Fund is not to invest in Hedge Funds or other highly speculative investments. The rumour that the Pension Fund had investments in the disgraced Madoff Hedge Fund is entirely without foundation.

Because of the economic crisis in which this country finds itself, I have already voluntarily foregone the TDs and Ministerial pension since the 1st March (before the budget decision), which have a gross annual value of €65.000. I am also paying all the Irish pension and income levies and the top rate of tax on my remaining income.