Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thanks for working feverishly, a Chathaoirligh, to make sure that everyone gets in. I acknowledge my good friend, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, who has made strident efforts in the Ministry of local government to improve the lot of councillors. Security was a notable achievement of his, but he also worked in other spheres, which will fructify in the future. He is a true champion of councillors and we appreciate that. I acknowledge the presence of Councillor Anna Grainger in the Gallery, who herself is a great advocate for councillors.

There are a couple of salient points that need to be quickly made. First, councillors do need a pension. The opportunity to do that is in the context of auto-enrolment. Councillors must have a viable pension. It is an unthinkable concept that they would not.