Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend Senator O'Loughlin for this excellent initiative. As somebody who shares the panel with us, I know the Cathaoirleach is very much committed to achieving as much as we can for the community that elects us to the Seanad. It is very appropriate that the Minister of State is here. We have been in government for a year and a half. During that period of time, we have seen the package of benefits for councillors and the Moorhead report. The additions have come about because the Minister of State has been completely committed to resolving the issue. This is a first step. As we move on, there is so much more that needs to be done. It speaks volumes that the issue of maternity leave has not been addressed up to now. For some reason, female politicians do not require maternity leave, be they Ministers, Deputies, Senators or councillors. Thankfully, within the past 12 months, we have seen the Minister for Justice take her maternity leave, which set an example that, hopefully, will percolate down the political chain. We have seen in recent times that the situation is a lot more fluid that it was. People are choosing to go into politics but when they see the terms and conditions presented to them, some of them are choosing to leave. We need to look at the reasons for that. The lack of maternity leave is a major roadblock to young females getting involved in local politics. It is shocking to think that those who decide to get involved in local politics and become councillors do not have the benefit of maternity leave. This issue needs to be addressed. I urge the Minister of State to look at it as part of a further suite of measures to make local politics and local democracy attractive. I would also urge him to look at paternity leave because young men who have been fortunate to have partners who have had children should be able to take some paternity leave.

I agree with what has been said about the suite of non-financial supports that need to be provided to local councillors.I would start by saying that councillors should, if they deem it necessary, have access to legal advice that is independent from the council law officer. If they feel that there is an issue on which they need to procure independent legal advice, they should be able to do so and it should be paid for if it is legal advice that is required in the course of their work. Similarly, if they need to get engineering or planning advice in engaging in the local development plan and council development plan process, they should have access to it. When I became a councillor in 2004, I was straight into dealing with the Clare county development plan and the north Clare local area plan. It was technical, difficult and challenging. Certainly, if independent engineering and planning advice had been available at the time, it would have equipped me better to do my job. To this day, that independent advice is not provided. Councillors are reliant on the expertise that is provided by council executives that have their own agendas.

I believe that a pool of secretarial assistants should be available to councillors, should they wish to avail of it. That is what is expected in any modern workplace. That should be available to all councillors. In addition, if expert financial advice is required at budget time, it should be available to councillors so they can consider the budget they are about to adopt to the degree they feel they need to. If part of that process means that they need to access independent financial advice, that should be available. These are things that should be available to our councillors up and down the country to help them do their jobs. Money and resources are very important because people need to be paid a living wage to do the job, but the supports to help them do the job are equally important. I believe that the measures I mentioned would not cost a fortune but would certainly equip our councillors to do the job. They should be provided with financial, legal, planning and secretarial resources if they need them. Finally, if our councillors need to publish reports, there should be a facility to help them draft reports and submissions. These resources should be provided. Councillors will not materially benefit financially from such a suite of measures, but they will be able to do a better job and stand over the job they do because it will be done with the best possible advice.

I thank the Minister of State for what he has done to date. I know he is committed to ensuring that we have the best equipped councillors in the world to operate and run our local government and authorities.