Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan is expected to bring forward a system of vouched Oireachtas expenses over the next few days.
Speaking today, Mr Lenihan said he was not prepared to sign off on a proposed unvouched grant that was based on distance from Dublin.
He said the Oireachtas Commission had come up with a proposal to combine all expenses into a monthly block grant that would be unvouched and would be based on distance from the Dáil.
"I've looked at this proposal, and I'm not happy with it. I think we need far more verification of expenses. I discussed the issues with my own parliamentary party last night, and they are in full agreement with me. Expenses must be verifiable . . . I wouldn't be comfortable on signing off on that [an unvouched block grant] as a genuine reform of the system."
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Mr Lenihan said he wanted a system to ensure genuine expenses are being met, "but we can't have a system that allows any inference that expenses are being drawn for personal profit," he said, adding he was not suggesting this was the case.
"I was very disappointed that Deputy [Pat] Rabbitte suggested in recent weeks, and Deputy [Eamon] Gilmore this morning, that myself or Fianna Fáil were dragging our heels on this issue. We're not. I'm simply not prepared to sign off on proposal which provides that a blanket sum is handed out irrespective of whether the sum has been incurred or not."
The Minister said he had not made final decisions on the vouched expenses regime, and noted he had already reduced Oireachtas expenses by 10 per cent, and travel and subsistence expenses by a quarter.
Earlier today, Greens justice spokesman Ciarán Cuffe said a radical overhaul of the programme for Government is needed for his party to remain in coalition with Fianna Fáil.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Irelandprogramme the Dún Laoghaire TD said political expenses needed "root and branch" reform.
“What we’ve seen over the last few months is a certain lack of being in touch with people out there in really tough times. It wasn’t acceptable in good times and its certainly not acceptable in the tough times we are in,“ he said.
Mr Cuffe said the Freedom of Information Act should apply to ministerial expenses and called for a reduction in the expenses.
In response to the Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue’s decision to resign over the expenses controversy, Mr Cuffe said his party had always tried to “play the ball and not the man” but it was “unsustainable” to allow Mr O’Donoghue to remain in office.
Mr Cuffe said his party wants to move into radically reforming the political culture.
“It's not so much about John O’Donoghue its about changing the body politic moving on from this and getting full reform," he said. "We want to see a transformed programme for Government. I don’t think its worth staying unless we see a radical overhaul of the programme for Government."
