Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, to the House. The role of councillors has changed significantly over the years. We now have metropolitan areas, much larger electoral areas and SPCs. The role of the councillor is virtually a full-time role. I welcome that the Minister of State is setting up the local authority remuneration review group. It is important it is established as quickly as possible. There will be an independent chair. It needs to be someone who has an industrial relations background, who councillors have confidence in and who the Government can work with. The timetable the Minister of State is talking about is that it will report back by the end of the year. I always feel that timetables should not be too long or too short. If they are too long, they drag on and if they are too short, they are not comprehensive enough. It is something that is extremely important. I also welcome that the two key elements for a councillor are salary and expenses. I welcome the revision of the Civil Service travel scheme. It has had a wide range of revisions. The Minister of State will look at the methodology for how it is calculated for councillors and maybe at simplifying the system. That should form part of the terms of reference for the local authority remuneration review group. Councillors do phenomenal work on the ground. They are a basic element of democracy. The key focus in setting up a local authority remuneration review group with an independent chair, for the public, councillors and Government, is to be seen to be taking a holistic view. It is long overdue. It should be transparent so the public can see what is involved in being a councillor, including how much time it takes, the hours people put in, the expenses involved and that it has key elements of what democracy is about. People should be remunerated in a fair way in terms of salary and expenses. The key things are the local authority review group is being established with an independent chair and that the issue of travel expenses is addressed. I thank the Minister of State.