Councillors seek rise and €16k bonus

COUNCILLORS are now seeking a one-off payment of €16,000 on top of a proposed 50% pay-increase when the Government implements long-awaited proposals to improve salary and conditions.

The claim was made by representatives of the Local Authority Members Association after a meeting with senior Government figures.

In an update to members, LAMA said they were ‘informed the long-awaited memo [on councillor pay] is finally due to go to Cabinet next Tuesday’.

The council body also noted it intends to continue to lobby that the ‘increase be backdated to the commencement of this council’s term in June 2019’.

One appalled senior Government source said: ‘Are these councillors living in the real world? What part of a 50% rise in pay for politicians do they think is popular? And now they want us to provide a €16,000 bonus too.’

A number of Fianna Fáil senators, but none from Fine Gael, are believed to have sent out emails to their councillors bearing the good news.

One from Senator Eugene Murphy notes: ‘Some very positive news at long last, we have movement on the Moorhead report. I have been informed that Minister O’Brien will be bringing the memo to Cabinet on Tuesday.

‘Following that, it is intended to see its implementation from July 1. We would like to thank LAMA and AILG for their Trojan work on this issue.’

However, it appears the senators were premature and the matter will not appear before Cabinet next week.

One insider noted: ‘It is another fine mess. All the work is done. Darragh O’Brien wants to pass the increase so he can get the councillors off his back, but Micheál was having none of it. He put the kibosh on it straight away.’

Commenting on the debacle, Independent Senator Victor Boyhan said: ‘This needs to be resolved without delay. It is unacceptable that councillors are having to dip into their household income to subsidise their work.’