Seanad debates

Wednesday, 17 May 2023

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

Departmental Schemes

10:30 am

Photo of Kieran O'DonnellKieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Davitt for raising the matter of the security of councillors once again. I acknowledge the work he has done in this area on behalf of all our colleagues and councillors the length and breadth of Ireland. I have huge respect for the work they do. I started as a councillor and my colleagues were very supportive in allowing me to continue my political career by electing me to the Seanad. I wish to acknowledge that.

The matter raised is in the context of the recently published regulations on security for Oireachtas Members. I am grateful for the opportunity to come to the House to speak about the important issue of councillors' security. Senator Davitt makes reference to that. It is hugely important that councillors are able to go about their representation work in a way that is secure. Local government plays an important role in the life of the nation and is responsible for the delivery of a wide range of services. Elected councils provide a vital forum for the democratic representation of local communities. All elected representatives should be free to carry out their functions and representational role without fear of harassment or intimidation. In some quarters there are heightened adversarial attitudes, which is corrosive to democratic participation. They risk deterring potential new candidates and, more particularly, inducing existing representatives to withdraw from political life.

The regulations to which Senator Davitt refers were published in recent weeks, at the end of last month. Officials from my Department have been in touch with their Oireachtas counterparts, whom I understand are currently working out the details of the scheme for Oireachtas Members. I have asked my officials to study the full details of the Oireachtas scheme closely, once they are finalised and available, with a view to preparing a specific business case for the introduction of a similar security allowance for councillors, taking into account their particular context. A business case should of course set out the rationale and evidence for any such allowance, as well as its value and cost.My officials will engage with councillor representative organisations, the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, and Local Authority Members Association, LAMA, in relation to the evidence base for such an allowance. I have given that commitment and I am following through on it, but I want to do it in a structured way. It has come through at Oireachtas level as a statutory instrument but the details of the scheme are now being fleshed out. We are in contact and have been through it at an official level. I want to see the final details of that scheme and then we will proceed to do a business case for councillors but taking account of their particular context.

Any such allowance would have to be introduced by the making of ministerial regulations under section 142 of the Local Government Act 2001 and countersigned by the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, as was done with the Oireachtas allowance.

By way of general overview, I would like to draw the Senator's attention to the existing financial supports for councillors according to the provisions of the Local Government (Expenses of Local Authority Members) Regulations 2021. These include the local representation allowance, LRA, which is of a value of €5,160. There are 14 eligible various expenditure items.

Senator Davitt and I spoke previously and a clarification issued from my Department in December 2022, which I committed to doing, on the issue of home security systems for councillors who have home offices. It is my intention that further clarification will shortly issue in an updated circular to councillors which outlines and provides guidance on the various allowances of which councillors may avail. I want this to be an updated and evolving system. Installation costs of CCTV systems may be covered in full under the improvements to office accommodation category. Monthly and annual costs associated with home alarm monitoring may also be apportioned and claimed under utilities up to a maximum of 20% of the total cost.

I thank Senator Davitt for raising this issue and I welcome his comments. I, in my role as Minister of State with responsibility for local government, along with my officials, am proactively working on this. We are looking to see what is happening in terms of the scheme that comes out of the Oireachtas. Then we will be looking to make a business case on the specifics with councillors.

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