asked the Minister for Local Government if county councils and corporations are permitted to provide cars and drivers for their county chairmen or mayors; the number of such bodies that provide this service; and the cost to each.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Local Authority Cars.
17.
County borough and borough corporations are empowered under the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act, 1840, and the various City Management Acts to pay their lord mayor or mayor such salary or allowance as they think reasonable, and it is understood that some of these authorities avail of this power to provide a car and a driver for the use of the mayor on official occasions. The payment of a mayoral allowance does not require ministerial sanction and details of the amounts paid by local authorities are not available in my Department. There is no statutory authority for the payment of such salary or allowances to the chairmen of other local authorities.
Will the Minister state if he has inquired from the various county councils if such facilities are made available to their chairmen?
It would not be our job to do that. If we were asked for the authority we would have to deal with it, but since we have not been asked the matter does not arise.
The Minister has stated he has not been asked for the authority. Is it a case that he has not been asked recently or that he was not asked for it in the distant past?
No. I do not believe everything I read in the newspapers either.