Local Government (Support for Elected Members) Bill 2024: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-10
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Mary Fitzpatrick (FF), Industrial and Commercial Panel

Okay. It is important that everyone in this House and every councillor around the country understands why we will be voting for a timed amendment. It is not because we do not understand the pressures of councillors or because we think they do not need or deserve support. Rather, we wish to ensure their needs and the supports they require are provided in a holistic way. That is why we have supported the establishment of a local democracy task force and are working to use our position in government to deliver changes. I acknowledge the efforts of Councillor Joe Malone and of LAMA. Councillors like Joe Malone and those on the executive of LAMA do incredible work. Not only do they do their own jobs as councillors for their communities within local authorities, but they take on additional roles within LAMA to champion all councillors. Similarly, those councillors who work with AILG also give their time to strengthen local democracy in a way that is meaningful. They are actively engaged. I have met both LAMA and the AILG along with the Minister and the Government. They are actively supporting the local democracy task force and I absolutely believe the task force can deliver not just the administrative support but all of the other supports our elected representatives need.
Senator Kyne alluded to the Moorhead report, which we dealt with in the previous Oireachtas. It made some improvements, such as improvements in payments to councillors, but there are still unresolved issues. While the allowance may have increased to €28,000, there are still issues around pensions, the lack of a pension and the fact there is only a gratuity which is capped. That absolutely needs to be addressed. Councillors have raised issues about how they are responsible for the policymaking, budget-making and reserved functions of their councils. For example, Dublin City Council has an annual budget of €1.6 billion but the councillors, to be fair to them, have what are defined as part-time roles. That is an enormous responsibility. They need access to independent advice and supports to help them to do their jobs because on top of all of the policy, regulatory and statutory obligations, what motivates them all primarily is their desire to champion their communities and local authority areas. They do it with heart and more energy than most people give in a regular, full-time job.
I absolutely support the sentiment of the Bill. I urge the Minister of State in his response to outline how the local democracy task force will address this issue and other issues. It would be really helpful if the Minister of State could, in the course of his response, address the need to encourage councillors to continue in the role and service so they have a wealth of service. The gratuity issues have to be addressed for our councillors as well. We also must ensure we attract new and diverse members to our local authorities. There is a huge barrier for younger people to become local authority members because once someone becomes a local authority member, they become a person of political interest and, all of a sudden, as a person of political interest, it is difficult to get a bank loan or mortgage or progress in other areas of their lives. Those issues are real, and that is before we start talking about all of the negativity that comes with being a public representative. As Senator Flynn said, public representatives live in the community and are accessible all of the time not just on social media from anonymous bots but from people living on their street or road in their village. Our democracy depends on our local authority members and us protecting and championing them. We are absolutely committed to doing that but the way to achieve progress is through a process that is properly resourced, funded and structured that can be then responded to and delivered on by the Government. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and I look forward to his response.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:26+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-10