Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and broadly welcome the recent changes he announced, as well as the modest increases in salary and expenses. These should be applied across the board and not just to rural councils. Being a county or city councillor is more than a full-time job and all we are looking for is equality and fairness across the board. I was elected to serve the west Mayo area for seven years and covered an area stretching 123 km, requiring a four-hour round trip. Like many councillors, I worked day and night and tried my best to serve the people who elected me. The increases of €1,000 in salary and €2,000 in vouched expenses will improve the situation but they must be only a start. Sinn Féin recognises that the increased workload of local representatives should be reflected in increased remuneration.

I acknowledge the work done by the AILG and LAMA and their determination to get a fair deal for councillors. It is important not just to retain local representatives but to make it attractive to those who may consider representing their community's interest in the future, and that includes representation from all walks of life. People should not be deterred by the low remuneration and barring people with children or with other expenses from being local representatives is not tolerable.

We have one of the weakest systems of local government and Sinn Féin would like it to be strengthened. There are two key deterrents to councillors influencing policy. One is the imbalance of power between central government and local government, which needs to be seriously addressed. The other is the imbalance between the chief executive and local representatives. The chief executives of councils have all the authority and the councillors are left with low remuneration and all the responsibility. I did a thesis on this issue as part of a master's degree in local government and I would be happy to provide it to the Minister to give him an in-depth analysis of local government in this and in other countries. The pay of councillors has to be set against the massive salaries paid to CEOs and the upper management of local authorities. In Dublin the city manager earns €189,000 per year. How can that be comparable with the remuneration councillors get? More powers need to be transferred and local representatives rewarded, valued and respected in local government.