Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for his constructive narrative throughout this process. It is very much

In terms of a deputy mayor, it is important to state that we did not create a position that would be directly below that of the mayor in terms of name, particularly in view of the fact that it is a body holding him to account. The councillors will hold him to account. I draw the Deputy's attention to the position of príomh comhairleoir and the fact that where he is not be available as a result of illness or whatever, the provisions of the principal Act, at Schedule 10(10)(3), relating to the chairing of council meetings would apply and the members would elect a temporary chair at that stage. The general scheme quite clearly sets out the provisions in the principal Act apply.

The Senator, quite rightly, mentioned the position of the director general. As he can imagine, the director general will take over specified functions. For example, he would be the accounting officer for the local authority and would manage its finances and be accountable in that regard. All HR and staffing matters will remain the responsibility of the director general. On the administration of schemes and grants, as the Deputy can imagine the specific adjudication in respect of particular schemes and grants is very important. The director general will also retain responsibility for adjudicating on specific planning applications and dealing with enforcement matters that are before the courts, legal proceedings, etc. In the normal course of events, that would be the case anyway because we do not want political involvement. The directly elected mayor will set the policy, the parameters, etc., and then the director general will be responsible for the administration side.

As mentioned before and as referenced in the data, the directly elected mayor will have a salary equivalent to that of a Minister of State, which is in the region of €137,000. The salary for the director general is being worked on at the moment with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform but we are saying it will be one point above the point on current scale that applies.