Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the Minister of State and thank the Cathaoirleach for scheduling this important and sensitive topic for discussion.

What we are talking about is the low rate of representational payment to city and county councillors. I began the discussion last week when I raised with the Minister for Social Protection the important issue of councillors' PRSI contributions. Councillors receive a representational payment of €16,950, from which the Government deducts PRSI for which councillors receive no benefit, a pension levy for which councillors receive no pension and USC, although the payment is not considered to be a salary. To add insult to injury, the representational payment made to councillors no longer compensates them for the responsibility they take on and the extent of the work they do.

Taking the average payment made to councillors, to say we are treating local elected representatives in a shabby way is an understatement. I am a trade unionist and have always sought fair play for those I represent. In this House I represent city and county councillors. The Local Government Reform Act 2014 was described by the then Minister, former Deputy Phil Hogan, as representing the most radical reform of local government in over 100 years.It introduced sweeping changes to Irish local government.

In one year the landscape of local government has undergone historic change with the amalgamation of some city and county councils, the creation of new municipal districts, new regional assemblies, the setting up of local community development committees and the creation of enterprise and development strategic policy committees, SPCs, in all councils. Constituencies are now very large with fewer councillors to do the work.

The pace of change has been fast and effective. Speaking in January, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, hailed local government as the engine behind recovery and said that by the end of 2015 local economic and community plans will have been formulated by all 31 local authorities. If local government is the engine behind recovery who are the real drivers of this engine? Who does the Minister of State believe translated this ambitious legislation into a working reality?

Our local government administrative structure is well-resourced and well-staffed with some very highly paid senior positions and we commend its work. The elected members, however, have been the real drivers of change as that was what the legislation envisaged. The former Minister, Phil Hogan, said, "The strength of the new municipalities will be founded not on corporate status, but on the role of their elected members". All over Ireland city and county councillors have embraced the immense challenges of reform with hard work, energy and commitment but how have they been treated in return?

To establish the exact position, as I am not given to hearsay and speculation, I undertook an empirical survey of every councillor in the country and here is a little of what they had to say: One councillor said, "I work 50 hours a week as a newly-elected councillor. This includes attending events. I receive €600 a month net after deductions". Another said, "I have to take a significant amount of time off work for meetings which are all held in the morning. This means that I have had to take 12 days' special leave from my annual holidays. In addition I have had to take unpaid leave to make up 24 to 30 meetings a month. It is simply unsustainable; I am lucky with my employer [but] how many employers would be so patient? I believe that we are closing out working class people from challenging for public office". Another said, "If Government is serious about attracting more women and particularly younger women who want to represent their communities as councillors then Government needs to start paying a living wage and ensure that councillors are entitled to a contributory pension. I have a BA an LLB and a first in an MA hence I'm well educated and I am sure that if I wanted to I [could] get paid more in the private sector". Another woman said, "As a woman in politics I have to fund my child care cost from council salary". This is something that we in the trade union movement fund for women who are members of the national executive.

One councillor said:

I am struggling to find enough hours to do everything. I cannot afford not to work in a full-time job as I have a mortgage and three young children. If the council remuneration is not increased to a decent, fair level the council chambers will fill with those people who can afford not to work or those with pensions. Representation will not be balanced, in a time of gender quotas, Government are ensuring that the squeezed middle, as the Government likes to call us, will not be represented going into the future. A lot of my fellow councillors are thinking about resigning.

Another said, "Councillors work seven days a week 52 weeks of the year including Christmas day and are taken for granted also the general public think that we get a pension and that we are on a very large salary". Another said, "I'm a full time County Councillor and I hold 40 clinics a month". One said, "I work At least 70 hours a week to serve my constituents in a very large municipal district of west Mayo". The Cathaoirleach will I am sure have some sympathy with that councillor. Another one said, "The public is totally unaware that we are paid close to or below the minimum wage for weeks averaging in excess of 45 hours. We have no secretarial support, no research support".

The statistics are stark. Some 26% of the respondents were female; 25% had only part-time work and 34% had no work at all; 37% had no income outside their council income; and 45% had no pay related social insurance, PRSI, other than class K, which means in effect after up to 40 years' service some will retire with absolutely nothing to show for their work.Some 62% of them do not have a contributory pension arrangement and 66% of them have no private pension. It is absolutely scandalous that some 47% of them, members of local authorities who must travel all over their constituencies, have no permanent health insurance. In the event of an accident or disablement, they have nothing to look forward to.

I am coming to an end now and ask the Cathaoirleach to indulge me for a moment. Some 33% of councillors said they work more than 40 hours per week and 64% claim to work between 11 and 40 hours. Some 2% had over 30 years service and 67% had less than ten years. More then 50% of those surveyed had less than €10,000 to show for their service. The greatest insult of all is that when they get their phone bill and separate their personal calls from their council calls. Surely to God we could fund their telephone calls.