Councillors in line for €8,000 pay rise

Cork City Council: The Government last week decided not to oppose a motion calling for a 50% pay increase for councillors. Picture: Denis Minihane

City and county councillors are in line for an €8,000 pay rise after a motion on the increase was passed by the Seanad.

The Government last week decided not to oppose the motion from Senators Gerard Craughwell and Victor Boyhan, calling for the 50% pay increase. 

Councillors are currently paid €17,359 a year, along with expenses worth another €5,335 and committee memberships and mileage. However, the Seanad heard the local representatives undertake huge hours on top of full-time work.

Fine Gael senator John Cummins said the job would end up being an hourly wage of about €14.50 an hour based on 33 hours a week. He said the Moorhead report on the Role and Remuneration of Elected Local Authority Members, delivered by barrister Sarah Moorhead in 2020, was "dismissive" of the work of councillors. 

The report had taken issue with what it called "clientelism". However, Mr Cummins said this was merely the day-to-day work of councillors helping constituents navigate the systems

Labour's Rebecca Moynihan said she too had concerns about the language in the Moorhead Report, adding that councillors are "the hardest working people I know". The former three-time Dublin City councillor said the local representatives are the "first to get the blame and last to get the credit" for the work they do.

Green Party senator Pauline Reilly said a councillor from her party had quit a nursing job due to the demands in terms of travel and work of being a councillor. She said that while the pay for councillors should be improved, there should also be an overhaul of the admin supports available to local representatives. 

Sinn Féin's Fintan Warfield said the proposal needed to be linked to "real and meaningful reform" of local government. He said that council buildings are "hollowed out shells", with powers having been stripped away.

Minister of State for Local Government Peter Burke said addressing councillors' pay was something he wanted to "to do quickly"`.

Mr Burke said he had crafted a proposal on the issue after hearing from local representatives and that the programme for government committed to implementing the report.