John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being a few minutes late. It is hard to predict the volume of traffic on the Naas Road, as Senator Victor Boyhan pointed out.

I am pleased to attend to provide the members of the joint committee with an update on the position in the review of the role and remuneration of the elected members of local authorities. I am joined by Mr Diarmuid O'Leary, Ms Louise Purcell and Mr. Grant Cooper from my Department.

The issue of supports for councillors is one to which I have devoted a lot of time and attention during my first year in office. I have attended the Seanad on four separate occasions to listen to the varying views of Senators on the matter. During this time improvements have been made to the supports provided for councillors. In November 2017 I co-signed amending regulations under section 142 of the Local Government Act 2001 with my colleague, the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Pascal Donohoe. The regulations provided for a new allowance for councillors, worth €1,000 per annum and backdated to 1 July 2017, in recognition of their additional workload following the 2014 reforms. The amending regulations also gave effect to a new optional vouched expenses allowance worth up to a maximum of €5,000 per annum, for which councillors may choose to opt in place of an existing unvouched allowance worth approximately €2,500 per annum. The terms of the allowance are based on the public representation allowance for Oireachtas Members. This means, in effect, that councillors can now claim for the same range of vouchable expenses as Deputies, given that they similarly have a constituency base to serve.

A range of other supports are already in place to assist councillors in performing their functions. The main support is the representational payment which recognises the work councillors volunteer to undertake when they stand for election and subsequently serve their community. The representational payment is currently linked with a Senator's salary and was increased on 1 January by €246 to €16,891 per annum in proportion to the increased amount of a Senator's salary from this same date. Councillors also receive a composite annual expenses allowance designed to defray in a structured way reasonable expenses incurred by them in attending council meetings. The travel and subsistence elements of the allowance are based on the current Civil Service travel and subsistence rates. This ensures payments may be made on a tax free basis. It is important to bear in mind that the annual expenses allowance is just that, an expenses allowance. It is payable on the basis that it offsets costs incurred by the individuals claiming it. It is not and should not be considered as an income. However, I also believe it is equally the case that councillors should not be forced by circumstance to rely excessively on remuneration from travel expenses as a means of financial support. Many times I have expressed my strong belief that it is of great importance to support councillors appropriately, with due regard for transparency and accountability, to ensure they can carry out their role as elected representatives effectively and continue to give expression to local identity and concerns and set local priorities.

With that in mind and being fully aware of concerns expressed by councillors and in these Houses about the current remuneration regime, I agreed with the Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, to the commissioning of a review of the role and remuneration of councillors. On 21 June I announced the appointment of Ms Sara Moorhead, SC, to conduct the review. I have provided the terms of reference for the review for the committee. As committee members can see, it is intended that the review will involve an in-depth examination of the role performed by councillors, including their statutory reserved functions, the political and community leadership role they perform, their governance responsibilities as council members and their representational role within communities.

An outcome of the review will be in defining fully for the first time the role of councillors. It is intended that it will inform an examination of the current system of remuneration for councillors, with a view to making proposals for a remuneration package representative of and commensurate with that role. The review will be informed by input from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and consult fully with elected members and their representative organisations. In that regard, Ms Moorhead has met officials of both Departments and had preliminary consultations with delegations from the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, and the Local Authorities Members Association, LAMA. I understand it is her intention in the coming months to consult more formally through various means councillors and their representative organisations, as well as wider stakeholders, as appropriate. I am sure members of the committee will have an opportunity to have an input into the review in due course.

The review will produce an interim report within five months, with the timing of a final report to be considered thereafter, most likely in the spring or summer of next year. When the review is completed, its findings will be the subject of discussion between both Departments. It will be submitted thereafter for consideration by the Government.

I welcome the committee's continued interest in this matter and thank committee members for their initiative in placing it on the agenda.