Calendars and Christmas cards among 9 million pieces of stationery printed for politicians at taxpayers' expense

EXCLUSIVE: Nearly 60,000 items were binned after TDs and senators failed to collect their orders in the latest example of public-sector waste

Calendars, Christmas cards, and bookmarks were among more than nine million pieces of personalised stationery printed for TDs and senators at the taxpayer’s expense during the past year.

The Oireachtas Print Facility also produced sympathy cards, visitor books, business cards, and congratulations cards for elected members, who are entitled to use the service in connection with their parliamentary duties.

Nearly 60,000 newsletters, calendars and letterheads that were printed at the facility ended up going straight in the recycling bin after the minister and TDs who ordered the items didn’t collect them.

A total of 12,700 personalised sympathy cards were produced for 10 politicians in the past 12 months. Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae accounted for 5,000 of these – more than double the number of people who died in Kerry during that period, according to RIP.ie.

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Mr Healy-Rae and his brother, Danny, also accounted for 45 percent of the 148,250 calendars that the Print Facility produced for TDs and senators in the past year. A consignment of 3,600 A4 calendars was recycled after Danny Healy-Rae didn't collect them last December.

Other print jobs that ended up being recycled after the members who ordered them didn't pick them up included 30,000 letterheads for former Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, and a total of 26,000 newsletters and letterheads for Fine Gael TD and former minister Josepha Madigan.

Minister of State Emer Higgins, Fianna Fáil senators Aidan Davitt and Diarmuid Wilson, as well as Deputy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, had the Oireachtas Print Facility produce a total of 2,000 congratulations cards.

Taoiseach Simon Harris was one of five TDs who ordered a total of 7,900 bookmarks during the 12-month period, while 5,650 visitor books – which contain a history of Leinster House – were produced for 10 members, including Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Green Party siblings Catherine and Vincent Martin.

The largest single print order was placed by Aodhán Ó Ríordáin for 61,000 newsletters last November, followed by an order for 60,000 newsletters for Tánaiste Micheál Martin in September 2023. This was the only time that Mr Martin used the print facility during the period.

Fianna Fáil TD Cormac Devlin was the biggest user of the print facility, according to records released by the Houses of the Oireachtas under freedom of information laws, ordering a total of 299,000 copies of printed items.

He was followed by his party colleague, Paul McAuliffe, who ordered 217,500 copies, and Minister of State Emer Higgins, who ordered 208,100. Fine Gael Senator Maria Byrne was next on the list with 200,500 copies.

The largest single order for calendars was placed by Minister of State Niall Collins, who had 31,000 of the items printed. However, Michael Healy-Rae placed three orders for a total of 40,500 A4 and A3 calendars during the year.

A total of 38,469 personalised Christmas cards were produced for TDs and senators, along with 15,560 greeting cards. The biggest order for Christmas cards was placed by Fianna Fáil Senator Mark Daly, who printed a total of 4,500.

By comparison, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar placed an order for 600 Christmas cards, his successor Simon Harris ordered 200, and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee ordered 1,200.

Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly and Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney also used the print facility to produce 700 A4 copies of the 1916 Proclamation.

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