Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. As he said, he knows this issue very well. He was a councillor for 11 years in Waterford City Council and mayor for two years. He knows the challenges and pressures councillors are under. Councillors also know that. I know from talking to a lot of councillors that they are very hopeful that he will be able to make changes. As he said, 23 people put in applications in 2024. We have more than 1,000 councillors, which shows there is something in the system that is wrong.

I welcome the fact that the Minister of State, after only a couple of weeks in the role, has already met LAMA and the AILG on a range of issues and on this matter in particular. I especially welcome his confirmation that the 100% element is not an issue because that is the most important part of it. I am sure he is getting recommendations for what the amount should be. That is clearly important in supporting councillors. The majority of councillors do not have offices so the amount would obviously be different from Oireachtas Members. From talking to councillors throughout the country, the key element is that 100% would be repaid. That seems to be the deterrent for local representatives throughout the country. They want to do it but cannot afford to, or are not in a position to be able to do it.