John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Although it a little strange, it is fantastic to be back here in the Seanad Chamber for my first Commencement matter. I thank Senator Ahearn for raising this important matter, which I know all Members of the House will agree on. In the context of the recent revision of the security allowance made for Oireachtas Members, I have raised the issue with my officials. We want to make progress on it. I am grateful for the opportunity to go through what has been done on this matter thus far.

As the Senator has rightly stated, local government plays an important role in the life of the nation. It is responsible for the delivery of a wide range of local services, and elected councils provide vital forums for the democratic representation of our local communities. I am sure we will all agree that all elected representatives should be free to carry out their functions and representational role without fear of harassment or intimidation.Heightened adversarial attitudes to elected representatives are corrosive to democratic participation. This risks deterring potential new candidates and induces existing representatives to withdraw from public life.

As the Senator rightly pointed out, a scheme was introduced for local authority members that provides for up to €2,500 to be claimed back on expenditure of €5,000 on personal security on a once-off vouched basis. This is administered by local authorities. I asked for information regarding how many have drawn that down. Unfortunately, only 23 councillors have done so. The reason for that relates to many of the items the Senator pointed to. In making that vouched claim, applicants have to get a written report from a crime prevention officer, which is a prerequisite for both the Oireachtas and local authority schemes, and the security measures have to be installed by Private Security Authority-registered installers. As the Senator said, there has been a change in respect of the Oireachtas scheme. One of my first acts as Minister of State, when I met the team in the Custom House regarding local government matters, was to raise the issue of the security allowance for councillors. As a former local authority member and a former Member of this House, I understand how important it is. I want to see progress made on this as early as possible.

I met with LAMA with the AILG today on a wide range of local government issues, but this is one of the matters that both organisations raised. Thus far, my officials have engaged with Revenue, which has indicated that there is no issue with the 100% element the Senator referred to. What my officials now have to do is make a business case to the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. That business case is required to set out the rationale and evidence for any revision to the allowance, as well as its value and cost, and the ability of local authorities to meet the unforeseen costs that might arise in 2025.

As Minister of State with responsibility for local government, I am very clear that I want to see progress on this without delay because the security of councillors throughout this country is of the utmost importance to me.