Vol. 510 No. 6
40 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his views on the call made by the General Council of County Councils that members of local authorities should be paid a salary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23306/99]
It is my intention that a modest salary will be introduced for local authority members. The local government Bill currently being drafted will, inter alia, provide the necessary statutory framework to allow for its introduction.
41 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of original applicants for the gratuity payment scheme to retiring members of local authorities; the amount of money originally set aside or estimated to finance the scheme; the number involved; the amount of money paid or to be paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23437/99]
Some 1,193 applications for gratuities under the local authority members (gratuity) scheme, 1998, were received by local authorities in respect of eligible persons. This figure includes 155 applications in respect of dual members, that is, people who held membership of a county council and an urban town authority, and 70 in respect of former members who had retired or died since the previous local elections.
The number of persons who qualified for the gratuity was 487. The total cost of the scheme was £5.23 million.
No specific amount of money was set aside to finance the scheme. It was not possible to estimate what the scheme would cost in the immediate aftermath of the closing date for applications since most of those members who applied had not decided whether they would retire at the June 1999 local elections or not. Had all those who applied actually qualified for gratuities the total cost would have been in the region of £11.3 million.
