John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The public service commission will be employed, in advance of the next local elections and regardless of who the Minister is in the future, to ensure that councillors' pay is related to that of civil servants, and that councillors and their representatives will not have to go cap in hand to a Minister. Instead, they should get the same incremental supports that the Civil Service grade would achieve in national wage agreements.

I think that we can all agree that this issue would benefit from a structured approach that is consistent with that applied to other groups in the public sector. Let us remain mindful that supports provided to councillors must compete with other demands placed on local authority finances.

In conclusion, I thank everyone who has previously engaged with me on this issue, which includes many Senators. I thank them for their interest and patience in bringing this matter to a satisfactory conclusion.