The Committee of Public Accounts is to examine allowances paid across the public service.
The move comes after Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin's decision to leave existing allowances, costing €1.5 billion annually, largely untouched.
It follows a request from Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy, who is a member of the committee.
The committee is to seek information from all public bodies and their heads will then be called before the body as part of its examination of the issue.
The committee is to write to all accounting officers seeking details of the extent of such payments, their cost, the rate of payment and the date when the payment of these allowances commenced.
