Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I would like to share time with my colleague, Senator Gallagher.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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The issue I am raising relates to the terms and conditions of local authority members. As the Minister of State is aware, over the past several years, there are 678 fewer local authority members than there were when the reform of local government took place under the previous Government. There are now only 949 local authority members. We used to have 114 local authority areas, including town councils, but this has been reduced to 31. Ireland holds the sad distinction of having fewer public representatives per head of population than any other country in western Europe. There is one local authority member for every 5,000 members of the public, as opposed to one local authority member for every 100 persons in France. France takes local government seriously with every town, village and crossroads having somebody who represents the community at local authority level.

Ireland has not only taken away many of the local authority areas and members, but their terms and conditions have been reduced drastically over the years. The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government previously outlined to the House why he was discriminating against those in Dublin, Galway and Cork cities and not treating them equally in his proposals.

I was hoping the Minister of State would outline to the House if the Minister has fulfilled his pledges to us and the terms and conditions he promised would be put in place. As they stand they do not go far enough to deal with the increased workload that local authority members face and the number of meetings they have to attend.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I concur totally with the sentiments outlined by my learned colleague, Senator Mark Daly. It is disappointing we find ourselves back in the House, raising this issue again. We had all hoped at this point that there would be some real and tangible progress to report. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

We are chasing county councillors out of local democracy because the reality is that, in order to do one's job properly, it is a full-time job. There is no way one can hold down a job properly and be a local representative at the same time. It is just not possible. All we are looking for is fair play and a fair day's pay for a fair day’s work. No local representative goes into local government to make money. All we are looking for is the vital role they play on a daily basis is recognised and that they get full recompense for it.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senators for raising this issue and the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government sends his apologies for not being able to attend the Chamber.

Effective local government structures are an essential part of our democracy. In turn, effective local government cannot be achieved without the hard work and commitment of elected members in service of their communities. I join with the Senators in commending the work of many local authority members across the country. A range of financial supports is in place to assist councillors in their vital work. These include a representational payment, fixed annual expenses allowances, travel and subsistence allowances, a mobile phone allowance, a retirement gratuity, as well as conference and training provisions.

The programme for a partnership Government includes a commitment to review the supports provided to councillors, in consultation with representative bodies, to enable councillors to continue their important work. Shortly after assuming office, the Minister met with representatives of the Association of Irish Local Government, ALG, and the Local Authority Members Association, LAMA, to discuss the view of their members that positive consideration should be given to improving the range of supports available. In January this year, taking account of the considerable additional workload on councillors since the 2014 local government reforms were introduced, the Minister announced two important changes to better support councillors in their role as public representatives.

First, a municipal district members' allowance worth €1,000 per annum is being introduced in the 25 local authorities that now have municipal districts, as these areas were most affected by the reduction in councillor numbers since 2014. Second, a new vouched annual expenses allowance of up to a maximum of €5,000 is being introduced which councillors may choose to opt for in place of the existing unvouched fixed rate annual expenses allowance worth approximately €2,500. These new measures must be implemented from July this year, following the necessary legislative amendments being put in place in consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The ALG, on behalf of its members, has called for a degree of flexibility to be applied to the new annual expenses allowance by retaining an unvouched element while amounts above this would be claimed on a vouched basis. The Minister is taking this matter under consideration and has asked his Department to examine this proposal in the context of the arrangements in place for members of the Oireachtas.

The Department is also examining the revised travel rates for public servants recently announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform so as to consider how they can best be aligned with councillors' terms and conditions in a manner that is both fair to councillors but also has a clear rationale and is consistent with rates that apply elsewhere. Consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Revenue Commissioners will be necessary.

I again thank the Senators for raising this matter. The Minister intends to give his full consideration to the issues raised by the representative associations and to reach a conclusion in this regard as soon as possible.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I wish to share my supplementary time with Senators Gallagher and Wilson who is also concerned about this issue.

The issue of vouched expenses was raised in this House before with several suggestions put forward. I am glad the Minister is examining the issue of travel rates and that they should in effect be compatible with a rationale behind them.He will have to return to the House in July to update us on the conclusions reached in regard to these proposals. While there are no distinct answers on some of these matters, it is an ongoing issue.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for her response. On the last paragraph, how soon can we expect the Minister to make an announcement on the issues on which we are waiting for clarity?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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It is my understanding that will happen in July, but I will bring the Senators' queries to the attention of the Minister and ask him to revert to them directly.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I understand the Minister is in close contact with the ALG and LAMA. It is hoped a sensible solution will be arrived at.