Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an ardent supporter of empowering local government, whether through greater technical and financial support or by granting greater powers to local authorities. However, while I support this Bill in spirit, after consulting several councillors, I will raise some questions and give constructive feedback. I and councillors to whom I have spoken find the Bill, though brief, to be very ambiguous. Since this is a general debate, I hope our discussion today will steer us in a good direction.

What exactly is the nature of this administrative support? Does it mean granting each councillor a budget to hire their own assistant or does it mean creating a pool of administrative assistants shared among councillors in a given council? If it is the latter, I can tell you immediately that it would raise serious concerns. Many councillors expressed concerns about confidentiality and conflicts of interest in a shared arrangement. They also worry that such a system would disproportionately benefit political parties over independent councillors. Furthermore, in rural councils, pooled assistants would likely favour councillors in central LEAs near council offices, leaving those in peripheral areas at a disadvantage.

Let us be honest: this is a very worthy Private Members' Bill, but the question is whether this is a full-time role or a part-time one. Everybody in this Chamber knows it is a full-time role. Councillors need to be rewarded and remunerated for the work they do. We must pay them properly and give them technical advice. They must be given their own independent solicitor and an independent auditor for budget time. That is what the councillors around this country need. We should up their local representational allowance from €5,160 to €12,000 and I am sure they could manage that themselves.