BY AMY ROSE HARTE
LETTERKENNY Deputy Dr James McDaid has missed 65 per cent of motions brought before Dail Eireann since he was re-elected last May, it has emerged.
The Donegal News has learned that ¤110,000-a-year Dr McDaid has cast his vote in 26 out of a total of 74 motions, making him the worst Dail attender in the county. His attendance record is less than half that of the next worst attender's, South West Deputy Dinny McGinley (28 per cent). Meanwhile, McDaid's Fianna Fail colleague Deputy Niall Blaney has missed just 12 per cent of motions, making him the best attender.
Examination of motions voted on in the 30th Dail during the period June 14, 2007 to February 28, 2008 show that the county's six Deputies have been marked absent a combined total of 121 times and none of the Deputies have a 100 per cent attendance record. Motions are regarded as the most accurate measure of a TD's attendance in Dáil Eireann.
The revelations come just one week after it emerged that the county's six TDs are earning a combined annual salary of almost ¤800,000 before expenses. Just one TD earns under ¤100,000 while the highest pay-packet goes to Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan, who pockets ¤244,344 every year.
The Minister, meanwhile, has attended 80 percent of motions, failing to vote in 15. She performed marginally better than her constituency colleague Pat The Cope Gallagher, who has attended 78 per cent of motions, having missed 16. Both were outdone by Fine Gael's Joe McHugh at 84 per cent, who missed 12, and Deputy Blaney at 88 per cent, who missed nine.
Overall, the worst attenders were long-serving Deputies James McDaid and Dinny McGinley, who missed 21. Both men announced their resignation from politics prior to the General Election in May, but did a U-turn.
While there is no roll-book for the deputies of Leinster House, a spokesperson for the Dail press office said the number of votes cast by a TD was an accurate measure of attendance.
"If you think about it logically, if there's a vote on in the house and you are in your office, there is no reason in the world why you wouldn't attend it, unless of course you are away on official business or attending a meeting off-site. If you were within the walls of Leinster House it would be inconceivable that you wouldn't attend the vote."
The spokesperson said no rules existed within the house to stipulate that TDs must attend a minimum number of motions.
"It is every parties interest that their TDs attend the votes, especially when numbers are tight. Sometimes there might not be enough Government members to win a vote, and that's when it comes down to one or two votes. I would imagine every party has strict rules for attending motions but certainly from the House's point of view it is within a TD's right whether they want to vote or not," the spokesperson said.
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