More than €586,000 was paid out in termination pay and lump sums in January and February to TDs who retired or lost their seats at the general election.

This included €28,055 in termination payments to ex-Fine Gael TD Dara Murphy, according to records released under Freedom of Information by the Oireachtas.

Mr Murphy had stepped down as a Dáil deputy in December following controversy over his claims for travel and accommodation allowances at Leinster House despite having a full-time job in Europe.

The former Fine Gael TD received a termination lump sum of €16,031.50 in January, according to the database of payments . He was also paid €6,011.81 in January and February in termination pay.

All TDs who lost their seat or retired before the last general election were entitled to a termination lump sum of between some €15,000 and some €17,500.

Altogether, 26 former members qualified for these lump sums with a total of €421,859 shared between them . In addition, each of them received termination pay of between €5,600 and €6,500 in February, which is calculated on the basis of 75 per cent of their previous salary.

What about serving Ministers?

That can be paid for up to six months depending on length of service, at which point the rate of pay changes to 50 per cent of their previous Dáil salary.

Ministers who lost their seat but continue to serve in Government have not yet received any of these payments and remain on their departmental pay roll.

According to the records, former Sinn Féin TD Gerry Adams was paid a lump sum of €16,031.50 in February as well as termination pay of €6,011.81

Former Fine Gael TD for Dún Laoghaire Maria Bailey, who did not contest her seat at the last election following the “swing-gate” controversy , received a lump sum of €17,098 and a monthly payment of €6,411.76.