AUTHORITIES at Leinster House say they have no plans to charge TDs and senators to use a "fitness room" for which the taxpayer forked out €270,000. The apparent benefit-in-kind is available to TDs, senators and other members of staff who work in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Annual running costs for the gym were €42,596 last year and are likely to have exceeded €150,000 since it was first opened. However, irrespective of the cost, the perk will remain free, according to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, which runs the parliament.

An arrangement in which staff of certain banks, including AIB, had gym and club membership subsidised, has already been criticised by TDs. Fine Gael's Leo Varadkar said it was indicative of a culture in the banks, which still believed they existed in a pre-Celtic Tiger era.

However, while bank staff may now find that their rights to subsidised gym membership are under scrutiny, no such move is afoot in Leinster House.

The gym was opened in 2005 as part of a refurbishment programme at the time, according to the Houses of the Oireachtas.

"A fitness room – approximately 75 square metres – was opened... to offer a healthy recreational outlet for members and staff," it said. "Expenditure of €42,596 was incurred in 2009 for services provided under contract including fees for fitness instructors and a new equipment maintenance contract.

"The fitness room is open for 18½ hours in total [per week], extending to 27½ hours in sitting weeks.

"Members of the Oireachtas, members' staff and staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas are eligible to use the fitness room. No membership fee applies. Satisfaction surveys confirm that the fitness room is a popular and well-supported facility."