NINETY-five politicians who have served as senators during the past four years have claimed more than €10.57m in expenses, it has emerged.

The senators shared a massive expenses bonanza, taking home an average of €27,500 annually on top of their generous €70,000-a-year salaries.

In 2008, wages for members of the upper house came to more than €4.46m in salaries and specific allowances for membership of committees and other roles.

However, those salaries were topped up with more than €2.71m in expenses for items including foreign travel, telephone allowances, special secretarial allowances and a variety of other unvouched expense items.

Between 2005 and 2008, the total salary and expenses bill for the Seanad came to a total of €27,177,072, of which €10.57m was expenses.

The future of the Seanad is in serious doubt after Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny indicated he wanted a referendum to abolish it.

For some politicians, any move towards abolition would prove costly, with some senators earning more than €550,000 since 2005.

The best-paid representative in that period was Fine Gael senator Paddy Burke, who has claimed more than €286,000 in expenses in the past four years, which would have almost doubled his annual salary.

Burke, who was paid €26,563 on top of his €68,715 annual wage for serving as Leas Chathaoirleach, claimed another €76,747 in expenses in 2008.

Most of that related to travel and subsistence, for which he claimed €49,722.38, but he also made claims for committee travel (€3,136.28), miscellaneous expenses (€9,128.16), a telephone allowance (€4,761.52) and a special secretarial allowance (€9,999.18).

Sixteen senators have claimed more than €200,000 in expenses since 2005, an average of more than €50,000 a year in excess of their salaries.

They were Peter Callanan, Paul Coghlan, Maurice Cummins, Camillus Glynn, John Hanafin, Rory Kiely, Terry Leyden, Marc MacSharry, Michael McCarthy, Pat
Moylan, Labhrás Ó Murchú, Francis O'Brien, Kieran Phelan, Jim Walsh and Diarmuid Wilson.

All of them claimed at least €200,000 between 2005 and 2008, most of it in the form of travel and subsistence payments.

The figure would have been much higher were it not for the general election of 2007, in which 34 members of the senate were replaced.

Ironically, the cost of operating the upper house dropped substantially that year as a new group of senators took office and got to grips with what they were entitled to claim.

Total expense claims in 2007 were €2.548m, which was a fall of €150,000 from the previous year.

When they took office, some of them wasted little time in racking up enormous expense bills.

Former Fianna Fáil TDs Cecilia Keaveney, Ivor Callely and Donie Cassidy each made substantial claims between June 2007 and the end of 2008, according to the figures.

Keaveney took home €80,393 in expenses while Cassidy claimed €81,543. Ivor Callely claimed €77,773 in expenses despite living in Dublin, including €8,353 in "committee travel" expenses.

Senator Ned O'Sullivan, who briefly became infamous for defending expenses incurred by John O'Donoghue and blamed "lazy journalism" for the former Ceann Comhairle's downfall, also made a significant claim.

According to the figures, his expense claims came to €90,287 in the space of 18 months, with a total of €64,651 claimed in 2008.

It is the best-known senators who have made the lowest claims for expenses with the likes of Shane Ross, Eoghan Harris, Ivana Bacik, Feargal Quinn, Joe O'Toole, Fiona O'Malley and Ronan Mullen all claiming relatively small amounts.

Ross and O'Toole, who served from 2005 to 2008, each claimed less than €100,000 in the four years, while Quinn claimed €50,450.

Since the election, Eoghan Harris claimed €34,359, Ivana Bacik claimed €26,503 and Ronan Mullen claimed €27,134.55.

The figures for senate expenses from 2005 to 2008 were made available to the campaigning website www.thestory.ie under Freedom of Information legislation.

Top 10 Seanad Expenses, 2005–2008

Paddy Burke (FG) €286,033
Paul Coghlan (FF) €249,516
Terry Leyden (FF) €248,622
Geraldine Feeney (FF) €246,369
Michael McCarthy (Lab) €240,163
Peter Callanan (FF) €230,392
Maurice Cummins (FG) €219,692
Camillus Glynn (FF) €217,224
Kieran Phelan (FF) €216,775
Marc MacSharry (FF) €214,018

Senate Expenses, 2005–2008

James Bannon FG (05-07) €134,555.65

Eddie Bohan FF (05-07) €73,586.19

Paul Bradford FG (05-08) €183,549.70

Cyprian Brady FF (05-08) €74,103.28

Michael Brennan FF (05-07) €142,042.57

Fergal Browne FG (05-07) €134,755

Paddy Burke FG (05-08) €286,033.75

Ulick Burke FG (05-07) €103,193.96

Peter Callanan FF (05-08) €230,392.07

Paul Coghlan FG (05-08) €249,516.09

Noel Coonan FG (05-07) €138,554.35

Margaret Cox FF (05-07) €162,530.4

Maurice Cummins FG (05-08) €219,692.42

Brendan Daly FF (05-07) €151,124.09

John Dardis PD (05-07) €82,500.02

Timmy Dooley FF (05-07) €138,156.56

Geraldine Feeney FF (05-08) €246,369.69

Frank Feighan FG (05-07) €125,517.91

Michael Finucane FG (05-07) €137,544.17

Liam Fitzgerald FF (05-07) €65,208.06

Camillus Glynn FF (05-08) €217,224.06

John Hanafin FF (05-08) €207,917.55

Brian Hayes FG (05-07) €75,584.84

Maurice Hayes Ind (05-07) €89,272.58

Mary Henry Ind (05-07) €62,087.34

Jim Higgins FG (05-07) €105,036.98

Brendan Kenneally FF (05-07) €139,189.80

Tony Kett FF (05-08) €130,522.93

Rory Kiely FF (05-07) €201,273.57

Michael Kitt FF (05-07) €116,282.18

Terry Leyden FF (05-08) €248,622.24

Donal Lydon FF (05-07) €156,902.58

Marc MacSharry FF (05-08) €214,018.05

Martin Mansergh FF (05-07) €98,053.33

Michael McCarthy Lab (05-08) €240,163.38

Derek McDowell Lab (05-07) €62,033.40

Joe McHugh FG (05-07) €135,192.42

John Minihan PD (05-07) €120,336.03

Paschal Mooney FF (05-07) €177,081.77

Tom Morrissey PD (05-07) €80,886.43

Pat Moylan FF (05-08) €204,959.80

David Norris Ind (05-08) €87,328.65

Labhrás Ó Murchú FF (05-08) €208,515.84

Francis O'Brien FF (05-08) €207,089.48

Kathleen O'Meara Lab (05-07) €104,051.07

Ann Ormonde FF (05-08) €152,464.54

Mary O'Rourke FF (05-07) €131,310.24

Joe O'Toole Ind (05-08) €99,967.87

John Paul Phelan FG (05-08) €184,681.48

Kieran Phelan FF (05-08) €216,775.35

Feargal Quinn Ind (05-08) €50,450.17

Shane Ross Ind (05-08) €92,279.11

Brendan Ryan Lab (05-07) €79,524.05

Eamon Scanlon FF (05-07) €131,254.38

Sheila Terry FG (05-07) €75,065.25

Joanna Tuffy Lab (05-07) €31,495.55

Jim Walsh FF (05-08) €201,369.74

Kate Walsh PD (05-07) €65,804.31

Mary M White FF (05-08) €92,519.13

Diarmuid Wilson FF (05-08) €207,563.10

Ivana Bacik Ind (07-08) €26,503.43

Dan Boyle Green (07-08) €57,421.06

Martin Brady FF (07-08) €40,330.02

Larry Butler FF (07-08) €65,507.91

Jerry Buttimer FG (07-08) €63,389.03

Ivor Callely FF (07-08) €77,773.64

Ciaran Cannon PD now FG (07-08) €47,365.07

John Carty FF (07-08) €75,891.21

Donie Cassidy FF (07-08) €81,543.15

Paudie Coffey FG (07-08) €75,226.17

Maria Corrigan FF (07-08) €33,697.73

Deirdre de Búrca Green (07-08) €29,625.05

Pearse Doherty SF (07-08) €66,937.35

Paschal Donohoe FG (07-08) €29,502.40

John Ellis FF (07-08) €78,718.04

Frances Fitzgerald FG (07-08) €41,711.13

Dominic Hannigan Lab (07-08) €51,851.12

Eoghan Harris Ind (07-08) €34,359.17

Fidelma Healy Eames FG (07-08) €78,503.21

Cecilia Keaveney FF (07-08) €80,393.82

Alan Kelly Lab (07-08) €59,250.75

Lisa McDonald FF (07-08) €57,241.52

Nicky McFadden FG (07-08) €64,345.75

Ronan Mullen Ind (07-08) €27,134.55

Brian Ó Domhnaill FF (07-08) €75,156.80

Fiona O'Malley PD (07-08) €27,628.26

Denis O'Donovan FF (07-08) €90,898.17

Joe O'Reilly FG (07-08) €83,396.94

Ned O'Sullivan FF (07-08) €90,287.94

Phil Prendergast Lab (07-08) €74,682.75

Eugene Regan FG (07-08) €26,849.62

Brendan M Ryan Lab (07-08) €34,585.15

Liam Twomey FG (07-08) €69,871.12

Alex White Lab (07-08) €18,508.71

Mark Daly FF (07-08) €61,928.67

Figures courtesy of www.thestory.ie