I think we need to look at the big picture here.
- The Health Service will need a €500m bailout this year
- We had the whole medical cards fiasco
- We are facing a severe shortage in junior doctors
- Waiting lists are growing again
- There is still a crisis in emergency rooms around the country
- Universal Health Care is still a dream
- A shovel hasn't touched the ground in the building of the childrens hospital
- The head's of the HSE and the Department of Health are fighting
- Financial management in the health system is described as shocking
- Most people in this country don't see hospitals as safe places.
Now imagine what state we would be in if he didn't use the port tunnel on a daily basis? Doesn't bear thinking about....
Revenue have clear guidelines as to what constitutes business travel and what doesn't. Travelling from your home to your usual place of work does not qualify as business travel. Why are the same rules not applied to TD's? I accept that they many have to travel long distances but a fixed allowance or a maximum should apply. Travel of less than 50Km should not be covered.
I'd be surprised if the same rule doesn't apply to TDs - it depends where the normal place of work is. In a TDs case, is it their constituency office? If so a trip to the Dail or an office they use as Minister would be allowable, applying the same rule as generally applies.