Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise an issue you broached in this Chamber, a Chathaoirligh, on many occasions. I know it is close to the heart of the Acting Leader as well. It is six months since we enacted the long-promised legislation on councillors' pay that had been bandied about for some time. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party dealt with it head-on, and we implemented the recommendations on pay that were contained in the Moorhead report. However, allowances and expenses remain to be addressed. The Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, and the Local Authority Members Association, LAMA, have written to the Minister, and I have written to him several times, on what should be allowable and what would ease the burden on councillors and help them to carry out their daily work. It would be apt if we could bring the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, to the House to discuss the issue. He is very hands-on with this matter. We could discuss what should be allowable and what would be of help to councillors going forward.The Acting Leader might see whether it is possible to have the Minister of State come to the House to consult Senators. It would be constructive.