Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I have three points to make. I will first make an observation about the attendance at the meeting. I came in here a couple of weeks ago for a discussion on Traveller accommodation. Four members of the committee were present. We are having a discussion this evening on increasing pay for councillors, and there were 12 people in attendance when I came in the door. That says a lot about priorities and there can be no surprise about the cynicism of ordinary people when they see stuff like this. I have no problem with 12 people being here, but let us have 12 people at all the important discussions that must be held.

I wish to make a point about class S self-employment for councillors. I refer to a full-time councillor whose partner recently became unemployed. He applied for jobseeker's allowance. Because his partner was class S, the full amount of her income was taken into account in the assessment, whereas if she had not been in the S category, half her income would have been taken into account.

The result was that the partner and the household lost out to the tune of €188 per week. That is a significant amount over a month or a year,. I will not give a view as to whether councillors' pay should be increased or kept the same. We will save that for another day, but councillors should not be discriminated against in that way, and that needs to be examined.

It is not unknown for employers to cause difficulties for councillors who are working people, who have jobs or who work in the private sector when the councillors need to attend council meetings. That is not democratic or right, and the blocks that private sector employers put on some councillors from attending meetings needs to be addressed as part of this review.