Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like the Cathaoirleach, I welcome to the Visitors Gallery Councillors Joe Carroll, Patrick Gerard Murphy, Mary Hegarty and Gerard Murphy, a former Dáil Deputy, and my good friend, Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony.

We are all aware that over the last year in particular, but at all times since I became a Member of this House, there have been attempts to improve the pay and conditions of local authority members of county and city councils, who are to the forefront of our democracy. Some of these changes have come about in the past 12 months in regard to PRSI payable by councillors and it is now equal to that paid by the self-employed. However, this is of little or no benefit to the majority of councillors. The additional €1,000 provided to recognise the additional workload which has arisen as a result of the creation of municipal districts has not been added to the expenses of councillors, even though these are expenses, but has been added to the representational allowance, which is subject to income tax and PRSI. The option for councillors of €5,000 of vouched expenses is so restrictive that fewer than 3% have opted for this. Another measure introduced last year changed the payment rates for mileage and introduced a banding system on a par with the rest of the public sector. These bands and rates were agreed by the public sector unions and representatives of the Government without any input from those who represent local authority members. As a trade unionist, the Leader knows it is a fundamental of any negotiations on public sector pay and conditions that the people affected are represented at such negotiations. This courtesy was not afforded to local authority members through either the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, or the Local Authority Members' Association, LAMA. These bands have led to the introduction of a requirement for aggregation of travel claims by members of local authorities across the various bodies on which they represent the public - not themselves but the public. The Oireachtas has placed an obligation on local authorities to nominate members to serve on the education and training boards, the regional assemblies, the governing authorities of various third level institutions and many other bodies. We are now requiring councillors and their parent local authorities to administer an extraordinarily convoluted system for the payment of a pittance to local authority members to cover their travel expenses. Officials in Departments and local authorities will have no difficulty with the systems because their pay and expenses are administered by their employers. However, the nature of membership of a local authority is that significant travel is involved and is payable from multiple authorities for the various activities in which we require our county councillors and city councillors to engage. Furthermore, the rates specified in the Department circular are Revenue-approved rates. This calls into question whether county councillors now have an obligation to aggregate the travel and subsistence payable to them in their work as a members of a local authority and the various public bodies on which they serve with any travel and subsistence they may receive in their private employment in order to remain tax compliant.

As a result of these changes, some members have become disadvantaged financially. This new system of travelling expenses has caused huge difficulties for rural councillors in particular. There are councillors in rural Ireland who represent very rural constituencies and, in some instances, island communities who are losing up to €4,500 or €5,000 for doing their job. This is not acceptable. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister of State with responsibility for local government, in particular local government reform and the pay and conditions of our local authority members, come before the House.

Finally, special recognition needs to be given to the unique status of the role of the local elected member within the local government system. The possibility of a dedicated travel rates system applicable to local authority members only, in recognition of their unique role within local government, needs to be looked at. No elected member can be allowed to be worse off due to these new regulations anymore. I am putting the House on notice, on behalf of Fianna Fáil, that we will not tolerate this. This is why I propose an amendment to the Order of the Business.