Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the motion on councillors' pay tabled by Senator Diarmuid Wilson. This issue has been highlighted in this House over a long period of time. Despite promises by several Ministers that the issue would be addressed, it has not been. The issue of councillors' pay has been ongoing for years. Councillors receive a representational payment of €16,565. That breaks down to €318.56 per week and it is subject to PAYE, PRSI and USC. If one takes the gross figure of €318.56, and assumes that the average councillor works 40 hours a week, it comes to €7.90 per hour. Most of the time these hours will be unsociable - weekends and evenings. Speaking to and knowing many councillors, I know that they work far in excess of 40 hours per week. It might be 50 or 60 hours a week. If a councillor were to work 60 hours a week his or her gross earnings would be €5.31 an hour.

The issue is far from being sufficiently addressed. That is because the Minister, or indeed any sitting Government, does not feel that dealing with this issue will be popular. What they are doing, however, is undervaluing and selling out our democracy. Councillors are at the front line of Ireland's democratic process. If someone has a query on the street which they want addressed and if the council system is not working, that person goes to his or her local councillor to get it addressed. If we want a functioning democracy, and if we truly value democracy in the local government sector, we need to resource the councillors effectively. We have chief executive officers running around the country claiming expenses and it is never reported. Why? Because they are the permanent government. It is about time that the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government comes to this House and explains what he is going to do once and for all because there has been report after report and analysis after analysis and the issue has still not been addressed. I hope that the Senators on the Government side will support this motion and compel the Minister to address this long overdue issue once and for all.