Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Minister for being, as Senator Leyden said, the first since the former Minister, Noel Dempsey, to address the question of councillors' pay and remuneration. The then Minister brought the councillors' terms and conditions from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages, but the Minister has the dance of the whole lot with what he is offering. He is light years away from what is required. Nonetheless he is making a start and I would encourage him to keep at it.

Senator Landy's suggestion of establishing a commission on local authority pay and conditions is the way forward. I came into local government in 1985 and I was 22 years a councillor before I was elevated to this House. For the entire period I served I lost money every day. I was a self-employed businessman and I had to put in replacement staff when I was away. Some of my colleagues were employees who had to take their holidays and time off to cover the council meetings. All that went unheralded. The media would have a major expose about councillors' expenses, never looking into the sacrifices they made. Councillors are never away from work as long as they have a phone in their pocket. We all know that so well.

The Minister will have to do better. Councillors deserve better than this. Councillors are the sinew of their communities. They love their communities. They are not doing it for money. They love their communities and work to serve their communities. They give leadership to their communities. It will be a bad day for democracy in this country when that kind of effort goes unrewarded.