Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the great work done by all councillors but especially by my colleagues in Sinn Féin. There is a list of them. They include a nurse, a social worker and even a DIYer. Others are the local activist in the community. Let us face it - most councillors do a full-time job for remuneration of approximately €17,000 which, frankly, is an insult. Many of them travel large distances to attend meetings and are available 24/7 by phone, email, etc. We also now have Facebook and Messenger. I was counting the ways by which people could contact us and the number is growing. It can also be quite intrusive. It happens in all aspects of all politicians' lives but mainly for local councillors.

Local councillors in Dublin South-Central embed themselves in their communities for which they put in so much work. While I welcome the announced increases, they are paltry and mean-spirited. Increasing the payment for fully vouched expenses per year is probably a sensible way to ensure councillors' reasonable expenses will be met, while ensuring full transparency and accountability. Ireland has one of the weakest systems of local government in the European Union. We expect our elected representatives to be full-time professional politicians, yet we only pay them part-time wages. If we want the system of local government to work in the best interests of local communities, we need to give it the power and resources it needs.

I refer to the invaluable support councillors give Deputies and Seanadóirí. The councillors in my area support me in my local work. They provide updates on what is happening and note planning applications and objections. They also know what the environmental issues are. We work together to have safe, secure and thriving communities. If we want to replicate the local government set-up in other countries and become more stringent legislative scrutineers, we will rely even more heavily on councillors. We need to give them the resources they need for this extra work and responsibility.

Serious issues for councillors were outlined elegantly by my colleagues. I have alluded to the most pertinent of them, the wage level, but I again state councillors work full time. It is an emotional and distressing experience to be a councillor. I remember when I was one at the beginning of what is now the homeless emergency. One can find oneself completely powerless and unable to help someone in distress. One day a family of five arrived at my clinic at 8 p.m. They had nowhere to go and I ended up paying for a hotel for them because I could not let them sleep in a car on the side of the road. That impact on people's mental health has grown exponentially in the past few years. It is the number one issue, followed by health.

Councillors work approximately 60 hours a week. At least I did. If my maths are correct, under €18,000 per annum works out at approximately €5.60 an hour. The salary needs to reflect the work done. I also have serious concerns about the lack of access to maternity leave. Last month my colleague, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin, asked the Minister of State about the issue but all he got was a vague reference to the Government's responsibility under the national strategy for women and girls 2017 to 2020 and working towards having greater female representation. However, there was no indication as to when the issue would be resolved. My colleague, Councillor Janice Boylan, was recently back at work a couple of weeks after giving birth. If a councillor is out sick for six months, he or she will receive sick pay. If money is available in the unfortunate case where someone falls ill, it should be available to support new mothers and fathers. What a disincentive it is for young families and, in particular, young women to become involved in politics if they cannot access the maternity leave they deserve or do not receive a proper wage to support their young families. There is a need for greater female representation, but we are not going about it in the right way in encouraging it.

The changes are welcome, but they are long overdue and do not go far enough. I urge the Minister of State to re-examine the issue and truly recognise the work done by councillors by giving them the wages appropriate to the job.