Did you know (this one you probably do) that Independent TDs and Senators get an annual allowance of between €21,000 and €37,000 each that they can put towards opinion polling, consultants, "policy formulation", and entertainment: 
Policy formulation can mean many things under the guidelines. Last year, Minister Sean Canney put in for €3,258 in this category. It was exclusively made up of restaurant bills:
The year before, his policy formulation expenses came to €3,184. This included a bill of €1,123.90 at Canavan's Pub of Belclare in his constituency. It also included a trip to Westminster to "meet U.K. politicians on Brexit"
Senator David Norris put in for €29,459 for "website, design and online services" in 2018. You can visit his website at: senatordavidnorris.ie
These are Minister Katherine Zappone's "entertainment" claims from 2018. You can see the full details of all the statements from the past number of years. Click into year and go to Independent TD/Senator returns: sipo.ie/reports-and-pu…
Senator Shane Ross claimed just over €6,000 in entertainment expenses last year according to the records. You can see the full details from Page 163 of this document: sipo.ie/reports-and-pu…
For some aspects of the allowance, the claims have a reasonable degree of detail. For others, there is very little detail provided on how the money is being spent. Again, this from Shane Ross' annual return:
The actual receipts and invoices are retained by the politician's auditor. These are definitely not available for inspection by the public or media. It's highly unlikely they would fall under FOI either given the "private papers" decision:
Here's a detailed read on the level of oversight that is in place for the parliamentary activities allowance: thejournal.ie/parliamentary-…
Worth pointing out that all TDs & Senators get this allowance but only Independent members have personal control over it. For party members, the money goes into a central pot, which also has to be accounted for. Click into "party leaders returns": sipo.ie/reports-and-pu…
