Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I did not get a chance last week to say how honoured I am to have been elected to the Seanad and to thank all of those who have helped me on my journey to be here today. I have no fear in knocking down any walls for the greater good of society and I will do my best to serve all the people of this island.

I have served as a county councillor within local government for many years and I understand the value of that role within the democratic system. That value is not always recognised. The recently published Moorhead report does not reflect the work these elected men and women do within local government.That report states that councillors do 18 hours work a week, which is ludicrous. I have often done 18-hour days in that role. If we want good people in politics at local level, we must pay them a living wage. They do not demand more than that. It is not right that councillors' pay is not linked to a pension, especially when they are the only State body that is not. There is no paternity leave, maternity leave or sick leave for any councillor. We must do better for our local representatives. We must put proper supports in place to help them build better communities around them. If we get that right, let us imagine how great life would be for our citizens in our villages, towns and cities. Now more than ever, these elected leaders will be needed to re-energise and revitalise communities and promote sustainability of businesses in their areas.

I would like to briefly remark on an issue regarding the new Minister with responsibility for children, Deputy O'Gorman. I will not focus too much on the distressing amount of time it has taken for him to respond to the questions raised in the recent days about his association with Peter Tatchell. I will focus on something much more important, namely, child psychiatric services, or rather the lack of them. There are only six child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, in three counties - Dublin, Cork and Galway - and only two of them provide out-of-hours services. Last year, 10% of the children admitted to local beds were admitted to adult units. Overall, there has been a 20% rise in referrals to that service. I would like the Leader to call the Minister with responsibility for children in to this House.