Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for raising this issue and the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government sends his apologies for not being able to attend the Chamber.

Effective local government structures are an essential part of our democracy. In turn, effective local government cannot be achieved without the hard work and commitment of elected members in service of their communities. I join with the Senators in commending the work of many local authority members across the country. A range of financial supports is in place to assist councillors in their vital work. These include a representational payment, fixed annual expenses allowances, travel and subsistence allowances, a mobile phone allowance, a retirement gratuity, as well as conference and training provisions.

The programme for a partnership Government includes a commitment to review the supports provided to councillors, in consultation with representative bodies, to enable councillors to continue their important work. Shortly after assuming office, the Minister met with representatives of the Association of Irish Local Government, ALG, and the Local Authority Members Association, LAMA, to discuss the view of their members that positive consideration should be given to improving the range of supports available. In January this year, taking account of the considerable additional workload on councillors since the 2014 local government reforms were introduced, the Minister announced two important changes to better support councillors in their role as public representatives.

First, a municipal district members' allowance worth €1,000 per annum is being introduced in the 25 local authorities that now have municipal districts, as these areas were most affected by the reduction in councillor numbers since 2014. Second, a new vouched annual expenses allowance of up to a maximum of €5,000 is being introduced which councillors may choose to opt for in place of the existing unvouched fixed rate annual expenses allowance worth approximately €2,500. These new measures must be implemented from July this year, following the necessary legislative amendments being put in place in consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The ALG, on behalf of its members, has called for a degree of flexibility to be applied to the new annual expenses allowance by retaining an unvouched element while amounts above this would be claimed on a vouched basis. The Minister is taking this matter under consideration and has asked his Department to examine this proposal in the context of the arrangements in place for members of the Oireachtas.

The Department is also examining the revised travel rates for public servants recently announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform so as to consider how they can best be aligned with councillors' terms and conditions in a manner that is both fair to councillors but also has a clear rationale and is consistent with rates that apply elsewhere. Consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Revenue Commissioners will be necessary.

I again thank the Senators for raising this matter. The Minister intends to give his full consideration to the issues raised by the representative associations and to reach a conclusion in this regard as soon as possible.