Section 13 of the Local Government Act 2001 provides for disqualifications from local authority membership.
Section 13(1)(i) of the 2001 Act provides that a person who is employed by a local authority and is not the holder of a class, description or grade of employment designated by the Minister by order under section 161(1)(b) of the 2001 Act shall also be disqualified from membership of a local authority. Section 161 of the 2001 Act refers to restrictions on local authority employment and membership of a local authority.
In 2004, the then Minister for Environment, Local Government and Heritage, under Section 161 of the 2001 Act, signed the Local Government Act 2001 (Section 161) Order 2004 which provides that the disqualification set out in Section 13 would not apply in respect of “every class, description or grade of employment the maximum remuneration for which on the last date for receipt of nominations at a local election does not exceed the maximum remuneration for the grade of Clerical Officer”. Circular LG(P) 06/09 issued to local authority employees in this regard in May 2009.