Local Government (Support for Elected Members) Bill 2024: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-10
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Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel

I also want to express my disappointment about another timed amendment. I appreciate there is always an excuse for the timed amendment but it has been systematic across Opposition legislation.
This Bill is not simply an investment in our county councillors. It is really an investment in the quality, transparency and democratic integrity of local government. As we all know and has been said already, councillors carry a workload that is vast, complex and often heavily underestimated. Finding a balance between attending events, preparing and participating in meetings, and admin work like emails and research is a significant challenge. I am sure we all know councillors who can get overwhelmed with just the sheer quantity of what they need to do. Many of them are working full time on a part-time wage. Many of them might be parents or carers. All of these things make it really difficult to do the full scope of their work to the degree they would wish to, which could be countless meetings, responding to constituents at all hours, and acting as a bridge between local authorities and communities that they proudly represent.
I have heard directly from councillors who have so much admin that they choose not to submit their vouched expenditure and their own expenses because it is just an additional task that they cannot get to. They prioritise their constituency work over receiving their own expenses. This is also about retention and diversity. The lack of support pushes out parents, people in full-time work and carers. For those with second jobs or with caring responsibilities, admin is the last thing to get done. We know that the technical nature of councillors' work has also grown enormously with local authority budgets now running into the millions, accompanied by dense annual service plans, local area plans and the development plans that require careful analysis and scrutiny. There are people who struggle. I have dyslexia and there will be councillors who actually struggle with reading the content, as I would. Having that additional administrative support would allow a councillor to consume, analyse, assess and make judgments on the material they receive monthly. Councillors are expected to exercise oversight and representation on behalf of their communities and to do that without any support whatsoever, unlike ourselves and unlike the TDs in the Dáil.
This Bill is about ensuring that councillors can fulfil the mandate they were elected to carry out. It strengthens local government and local accountability and it recognises the modern complexity of local government. It supports those who give so much of their time and so much of their energy and personal life in the aid of public service. I am very proud to support the Bill and I am disappointed about the timed amendment.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:26+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-10