Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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633. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the position regarding the ongoing situation regarding local authority members terms and conditions. [30879/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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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.

My predecessor as Minister met last year with representatives of the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) 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 additional workload on councillors since the 2014 local government reforms were introduced, the then Minister  announced important changes to better support councillors in their role as public representatives. Following my appointment as Minister, I am considering the issue of supports for local authority members, with a view to concluding the matter as quickly as possible.