Call for no pay or expenses for councillors ignores lessons of history

Brendan Ronayne says that city and county councillors should receive no pay and no expenses (Letters, Nov 19).

His letter is a good illustration of the selective amnesia that has taken hold among a large section of the public since the beginning of the recession.

During the 1970s and 1980s, all councillors worked for free and received no salary. In Dublin, this resulted in a large number of councillors being influenced by wealthy individuals who wanted planning decisions. This is why it was decided to pay councillors a basic wage and expenses in the late 1990s, and yet this is the situation which Mr Ronayne wants to return us to.