Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

He is a colleague of mine. Everyone who was a councillor and was elected to this House will agree it is about time we faced this issue. We should not be afraid, in facing this issue, that the electorate will somehow say councillors are not entitled to what I propose. They are doing a great job.

Only three female councillors were elected to Roscommon County Council this time. There were four on the last occasion. One of the councillors could not continue working because her job did not allow her to be on the council. We want more women in public life and we need to support them. With the remuneration concerned, it is very difficult for a woman, with her partner or otherwise, to pay for childcare and so on. It is just not an attractive proposition financially. I wish all the councillors well. I wish all the candidates in the European Parliament election well, whether they are successful or not. They made a great contribution to democracy by contesting the election.