Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I request the Leader of the House to keep No. 2, "Statements on Councillors’ Conditions", open-ended, in order that we can come back to it at a further time. There are several Members here who would like to contribute to that. Senator Norris ably represents Trinity College, and his graduates and electorate, and Michael McDowell, who is a senior counsel, represents the graduates of the National University of Ireland ably and well. As such, I offer no apology. Our electorate are councillors, Deputies and Senators and we are entitled to represent their views. To give an example, in County Roscommon, the number of councillors was reduced from 26 to 18 but there was no increase in the remuneration of councillors. The amount of work has increased and they are more in demand than any Member of this House - or most Members of this House - except those running for election to Dáil Éireann. They have a very good case. Their salary is pegged at approximately 25% of a Senator's salary. Were it increased to 33% without having this regular debate, at least one would have a reasonable amount of money to survive.