Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief because what I wanted to say has been said already. I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I thank him for the work he has done to date, however, I think the proposals by LAMA and the AILG must be taken on board. Senator Ned O'Sullivan raised the issues that arise for councillors who are self-employed and trying to take time off work while managing a business. It is getting more difficult for those who are employed to take time off work and try to hold down a full-time job while serving on a council. It is not easy for employers to be flexible with time. We are losing some very good people.

We also need to take on board the position of young people serving in local government. In the case of a people with a young family, there is a loss of income if they take time off work and then they have to manage to find the time to make representations and serve on the council. We need to have a broad range of people involved in the council. If we want to ensure we have that, we need to ensure there is adequate provision made to cover their expenses and their costs in serving and giving leadership in the community.

The vast majority of those who end up serving on a local authority are there because they have already been providing the leadership in their local community and have already made a significant commitment to their local area. They now want to continue that and make a contribution to further development and forward planning.

An expert consultant making a presentation advising a meeting of 20 councillors for one hour will be paid more for that hour in all likelihood than what the combined 20 councillors could claim in expenses for the same hour. We have to view it in that context. What the AILG and LAMA are looking for is not unreasonable. Their views need to be taken on board.