While on a visit to Kilkenny this week, Minister at the Department of the Environment and Local Government, John Gormley told reporters that he had no intention of proposing the abolition of town councils although the proposal is contained in the McCarthy Report.
Speaking at County Hall on Monday, Minister Gormley said: “Town councils serve us well and if you look at European models, it would appear that the abolition of town councils doesn’t save significant money. There are other ways to save money”.
Minister Gormley said that under the new Programme for Government the Department would envisage expanding the role of regional authorities, which would see the continuation of decision making at local level.
He also added that reform of local government was necessary but will take time.
“It will take time and there will be some upheaval but we will do it in a way that is well thought out. It is currently happening at a slower pace than we would like, and we’d like greater flexibiilty.”
Minister Gormley also told reporters that he believed the proposal by Enda Kenny to abolish the Senate would not happen.
“We have discussed the Senate but now the proposal has changed following Mr Kenny’s recent remarks. We thought that we wanted reform, but now Mr Kenny wants to abolish the Senate. A referendum will be required to deal with this issue but I believe there will be a Senate - a reformed one, but one with much more relevance. There has been report after report on this issue - there will be no more reports gathering dust,” he declared.
The Minister, who is currently preparing to present the White Paper on local government reform, also added that he would be ‘seeking efficiences’ in regard to expenses paid to councillors and there would be some cuts in the future.
He recognised there had been “abuses in the past” regarding payments to councillors for attendance at conferences, and he admitted that this practice needed to be addressed. He added that “a fair approach” was needed.
County councillors currently receive an annual allowance of €17,543.76 in addition to their expenses which include mileage, telephone and miscellaneous expenses. Payments to attend conferences are claimed separately. As chairman of the council, Mr Michael O’Brien also receives an additional annual allowance of €34,082.88.
Members of Kilkenny Borough Council, by contrast, receive a lower annual representational allowance of €8,771.88 while the Mayor, currently Malcolm Noonan of the Green Party, receives an annual “top-up payment” of €24,948.56. Borough councillors also receive expenses.
