Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach.

I welcome the Minister to the House. I acknowledge his sincere engagement with this question and that this is the first time that this issue has been debated in a while. I also welcome the representatives from the AILG and LAMA.

The councillors are the cornerstone of democracy. They should not and cannot be taken for granted. They act as a buffer between the public and the Houses of the Oireachtas. There is enough going on in the world to underline the importance of democracy and the fact that it can never be taken for granted. That is all the more reason we should support local councillors. They operate in an increasingly challenging environment. It is one of multi-media where instant responses are needed. We also have a multicultural and multiracial society. The role of local councillor is very challenging.

I agree with my colleagues that city and county councillors face similar challenges. I appeal to the Minister to look at the question of city versus county and to bring parity as he fine tunes his proposal. The point has been made that area committees must be serviced in the city. I join in the appeals that have been made to the Minister to extend the increase in pay and allowance to personnel in the city. It would be fair to extend the increase. We do not want to create a division between city and county. We do not want to create an unpleasant competitive atmosphere among colleagues who work for the good of everyone.

Councillors have meetings at least two days a week and more in some instances plus related constituency work on other days. Therefore, they cannot hold down a normal job. This morning I met a councillor who told me that he physically could not get a job because of the amount of meetings that he must attend. He chatted to myself and the LAMA people. He told me that he possibly has three days free to do other work but nobody wants him. In other words, he cannot have a normal job. That is a shocking state of affairs that needs to be addressed.

There has been a 41% decrease in the number of elected members. The number has decreased from 1,627 down to 949. The decrease has greatly increased the challenges faced by the remaining elected members. The job requires a huge time commitment, a considerable amount of personal expenses and additional meetings. Plus the job is much more complex.

What has been done so far is welcome. We need to extend the measures further and continue to engage. I appeal to the Minister to consider the equality issue. I appeal to him to continue an engagement with councillor organisations or the two representative bodies with a view to addressing councillor issues on a continuous basis and addressing the salary. There is a real issue here. I do not think it in any way diminishes the great amount of voluntary work that councillors do. No matter what we do, even if there are radical changes, we will not come close to compensating councillors for the amount of hours involved. It is good and I am glad that there has been unanimity around the House about this issue. There is general recognition of this issue right across communities. As somebody who has been involved at both Seanad and Dáil level, if one took councillors out of the equation then democracy would be threatened and thus the link with the public. Councillors play a serious and important role in democracy. Anyone who studies the current world situation and the potential threats in Europe should value what we have and realise it is worth supporting.