Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. She mentioned that the representational allowance is not a salary but why are we charging PRSI, a pension levy and a universal social charge on it? If it is not a salary and there is no master-servant relationship, why is it not a straightforward allowance without any attachments? I appreciate where the Minister of State is coming from with respect to oversight powers of councillors but I have some serious doubts about it. We have disempowered our councillors and we are taking more away from them.

I have asked the following question before and a simple "Yes" or "No" response will do. Will the Minister of State consider putting together a working group to address this issue? The PRSI group is being dealt with by the Department of Social Protection. I am referring here to wages, salary, representational allowance or whatever we want to call it. Will she put together a working group that will examine this issue and produce a reasonable standard of payment for these councillors? They deserve the right to live and they should not have to fund their work from their own pockets.